Specto Nex
by daxy
Summary: Horatio finds out that he only has a few months left to live. Time is short and he has to deal with the fear of dying and the pain of leaving his loved ones behind.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Horatio finds out that he only has a few months left to live. Time is short and he has to deal with the fear of dying and the sorrow of leaving his loved ones behind. **

**Pairings: Natalia/Horatio, Eric/Calleigh.**

**-I-**

Horatio groaned as he almost rolled out of bed. He coughed as he stood up. He had been feeling ill for over two months. Alexx had forced him to go to a hospital and get checked up three weeks ago. And the doctor that had treated him hadn't found anything that would explain why Horatio felt like he had been run over by his own hummer five times. Not only did he cough, his chest hurt constantly and it made it difficult for him to sleep. He was barely eating anymore and that had of course led to some weight loss. He was tired. He just wanted to lie down and rest. But his body wouldn't let him. He went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked so old. He was 48 years old, but looked like he was 58. Sighing splashed some water in his face and yawned. As he got dressed, he started coughing again. He groaned and rubbed his tired eyes.

Once he was dressed, he left his beach house and went to work. It seemed to take forever to get to the lab. When he arrived, he noticed several officers looking at him. He knew that they noticed how haggard he looked. He sighed.

"Janice, any messages?" He asked the receptionist.

"No Lt. Not yet." Janice smiled, "How are you today Lt.?"

"I'm fine Janice, and you?"

"Fine." Janice smiled.

Horatio gave her a small smile back and then went to his office. He checked he mail. Nothing new. Within minutes, he was asleep, with his head on his desk. It was in his office that the team found him fifteen minutes later. Calleigh sighed and walked over to her boss. She knew that he needed the sleep, but she also knew that Rick was sneaking around in the lab and if he saw Horatio sleeping at the job… well, poor Horatio would have another problem to deal with. He didn't need to have Rick yelling at him.

"Horatio, wake up sleepy." She smiled and gently shook him.

Horatio groaned and turned his head around. Eric and Ryan chuckled.

"Horatio, Rick is sneaking around in the lab." Calleigh said.

Horatio sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and cleared his throat.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" He asked.

"We just found you in here." Eric said, "Is there a woman keeping you up a night H?"

Horatio chuckled and shook his head. The team knew that Horatio was feeling ill. However, they tried to make Horatio smile as much as possible, to distract him from the pain. Therefore, they joked a lot with him.

"How are you today, boss?" Ryan asked.

"Fine." Horatio lied.

He walked out of the office and went to check how everyone in the lab were doing, like he did every morning. The team had a tough case to work with, that involved a new gang. It was a small, but crazy gang. The gang had decided to appear out of thin air and start murdering judges and lawyers. The team hadn't found a link between all six victims and not enough evidence to find the gang members. Yet. After checking up on Valera, Horatio bumped into Rick in the hallway.

"Just the man I was looking for." Rick smirked.

"I can't say the same." Horatio sighed.

"There is a rumor at the PD." Rick said, "A rumor that says that Lt. Caine is on the edge of a collapse."

"Rick, why do you always listen to rumors?" Horatio asked as he started walking towards Natalia's lab.

Rick followed him with an evil smirk on his face. Rick could see for himself that Horatio looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in several weeks. So he understood why the rumors had started.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" Rick asked.

"Rick." Horatio growled, "Why are you here?"

"I have to check that you can still do your job." Rick said, "You look sick Horatio. And you better start looking more alive or I will talk to the chief."

"Just piss off Rick." Horatio sighed.

He opened the door to Natalia's lab and slammed the door shut right in front of Rick's face. Rick growled and left. For now.

"Rick getting on your nerves again?" Natalia asked.

"That man never knows when to quit." Horatio yawned.

Natalia gave him a look and Horatio glared at her. Every time he yawned, his team members were prepared to send him home. But he always glared at them and reminded them that they couldn't send their own boss home.

"As a friend, I'm asking you to please go home and get some rest." Natalia said.

Friend. Those words hurt more then Horatio wanted to admit. He wanted to be more then just friends. But Natalia seemed to be satisfied with friends. Though he couldn't blame her. He was 15 years older then her and he hadn't told her or showed her that he was interested in her. What could she possibly see in him?

"Natalia, I am fine." Horatio said.

"You call looking dead on your feet, fine?"

"You know that I can't sleep." Horatio sighed, "My own body won't let me rest, though it demands it."

"Maybe taking a sleeping pill will help."

"I've tried that." Horatio sighed, "Anyway, what have you got from the skin cells that Calleigh got from the bullet?"

"Well, I found a match." Natalia said, "Derek Conan. He's been in jail for possession of drugs ten years ago."

"Good work. I'll get Frank to pick him up." Horatio smiled and left.

Natalia shook her head as she watched him leave. She had watched Alexx try to talk some sense into Horatio during the last two months. However, nothing was working. Horatio wasn't getting any better. Not that he hadn't tried to get better. He had tried hard. He had done what Alexx had told him, but when it didn't appear as if it was working, he just gave up and waited for his body to stop being sick on its own.

**-I-**

"Well Derek Conan, I think you recognize MDPD." Frank said, "You were here ten years ago."

"It has changed a little bit." Derek said, "I have no idea why you had to arrest me in front of my kids and wife, Srgt. But you better have a good reason, or else…"

"Or else what? You're going to sue us?" Frank asked.

"Exactly."

"Well, Mr. Conan, you are here because we found your skin cells on a bullet that was picked out of Justin Boyer's body, three days ago." Horatio said.

"I've never heard of Justin Boyer and I know that I've never touched a bullet in my entire life." Derek said.

"That's BS." Frank said, "How do you explain your skin cells on that bullet then?"

"It must have been planted." Derek said.

"That's funny. You see, we looked at what you have been buying recently and it turns out that you bought bullets for a sniper gun. Mr. Boyer was killed with a sniper bullet." Horatio said, "And then you dug the bullet out of his body and threw it on the street."

"My hobby is shooting different guns."

"Your wife says you've never fired a gun in your entire life." Horatio said.

"She doesn't know. She dislikes guns, so it's a secret." Derek sighed, "Look, I'm a father of two girls. I am a married man. Would I really kill a lawyer?"

"Who told you Mr. Boyer was a lawyer?" Frank asked smirking, "You said you didn't know who he was."

"I watch the news, okay." Derek said, "Is there anything else?"

"Not for now." Horatio said, "But don't leave town."

"Goodbye officers." Derek sighed and left the room.

He looked back at Frank and smirked. Frank sighed.

"You think he's lying?" Frank asked.

"Absolutely." Horatio said and rubbed his eyes again. Frank noticed this and patted Horatio on the shoulder.

He was one of the few that didn't tell Horatio to go home all the time. He knew that Horatio had his entire team tell him that all the time. Instead, Frank was there for support and ready to listen if Horatio needed to talk.

**-I-**

Ryan smirked as he hid behind the couch in the break room. It was lunch hour and he knew that it was only a matter of time before Eric and Calleigh would have lunch in the break room. Since Calleigh was eight months pregnant, she didn't like to walk around too much and therefore tried to only be in the lab. She always complained about how big she looked. Eric thought she looked beautiful. As Ryan had expected, Calleigh and Eric entered the break room and sat down. Eric had went out and bought some Chinese food.

"Food!" Calleigh giggled and snatched the food from Eric.

She sat down by the table and placed her food on it. She started eating before Eric had even sat down next to her.

Calleigh was due to give birth in four weeks, and only had one week left to work. Then she would be on maternity leave. As Eric and Calleigh ate, Ryan aimed his water gun at Eric's neck and shot some water at him.

Eric yelped as he felt the water hit him and turned around. He didn't see anyone and shrugged. Calleigh was too busy eating to notice. Ryan aimed at Eric's back this time.

"What the?" Eric said and turned around once more as water hit his back, "Did you see anyone shooting water at me?"

"Nope." Calleigh said.

"Something hinky is going on." Eric said, before he turned back to his food.

Ryan tried to contain his laughter as he aimed at Eric's head. He almost got caught this time and laid down on the floor. He crawled towards the corned of the couch and aimed at Eric's feet. Eric growled and walked towards the couch. Ryan knew he would get caught and just as Eric looked at him, he shot water in his face.

"Wolfe!" Eric yelled and tried to run away from the water.

Ryan laughed and aimed at Eric's chest. Eric growled and snatched the water gun from Ryan. Now it was Ryan's turn to get wet. Ryan chuckled as Eric shot water in his face.

"Let's not forget the front of your shirt." Eric smirked.

But by now, the gun was out of water. Eric sighed and went to fill it up. Ryan screamed no, and grabbed the gun. He and Eric spent the next five minutes fighting over the gun.

"Boys!" Alexx growled from the doorway, "What are you doing?"

"Ryan shot water at me!" Eric said.

"You love to be in the water. You're like a fish. I just thought I remind you of that." Ryan chuckled.

"Can't you guys play after work?" Alexx asked.

"What's the fun in that?" Ryan asked.

Alexx shook her head and sat down next to Calleigh. Eric and Ryan went to change their clothes.

"Once our baby is born Eric will be a great play mate." Calleigh chuckled.

"If it's a boy, Eric and Ryan will teach him all the bad tricks they know." Alexx said, "And if it's a girl then… they will do the same thing."

"I know." Calleigh grinned, "However, it will be you, Frank and H that will spoil the baby."

"Hey! I think Frank and Horatio are worse at that than me." Alexx smiled.

"Not even close." Calleigh chuckled.

Eric came back with new and dry clothes. He smiled and gave Calleigh a kiss on the cheek, before getting back to eating his lunch. Ryan also smiled as he came back. He was carrying a bigger water gun behind his back.

"Eric, do you have another set of extra clothes in your locker?" Ryan asked.

"No, why?"

Ryan smirked and once again shot water all over Eric. Eric growled and ran towards Ryan. Ryan ran down the hallway in the lab, while still making Eric wet. Eric growled and tried to grab Ryan. Ryan was so busy looking behind him as he ran, that he failed to notice Janie's desk. He ran straight into it and actually fell over. Eric was so close behind that he failed to notice Ryan falling over the desk. He landed on top of Ryan, as Ryan continued to shot water in his face.

"You boys want some privacy?" Frank asked as he leaned over the desk.

Eric got off Ryan and stood up. Ryan laughed as he also stood up. Eric gave him a death glare.

"While you two idiots were busy playing, H and I interviewed our prime suspect Derek Conan." Frank said, "We decided to have a car follow him and it appears that he stopped outside big warehouse."

"So?" Ryan asked, "What are we going to do about it?"

"Well, we are going to take a little trip and see what he's up to." Frank said, "Get changed and meet me and H at this address."

Frank wrote down the address on a note and gave it to Eric. Then he left. Eric and Ryan realized that they had no change of clothing. They would have to walk around in wet clothes.

"I guess the sun will dry it for us." Ryan smiled.

**-I-**

Eric and Ryan blushed as they walked towards Horatio and Frank in wet clothes. A few officers were laughing at them.

"Do I want to know?" Horatio asked.

"Probably not." Eric sighed, "What are we going to do H?"

Before Horatio could answer. Shots were heard flying through the air, one officer was hit immediately.

"Everybody get down!" Horatio shouted.

Everybody hid behind their cars and tried to figure out where the shots were coming from. Frank saw a shooter up on the roof and fired at him. Ryan saw one behind a corner and fired at him. Both Frank and Ryan missed. But there was a third shooter somewhere. Horatio peeked up at the roof and fired at the shooter. Horatio barely managed to duck again as a shot went through the air just above his head.

"They're good." Horatio sighed.

"Where is the third shooter?" Frank asked Horatio.

Horatio shrugged. Another officer was hit, but not as fatally as the first officer. Eric shot at the shooter on the roof and managed to hit him in the chest. The shooter fell and Eric sighed in relief. One down, two to go. Frank screamed in pain as he was shot in the shoulder. Horatio turned to him.

"My shoulder!" Frank hissed in pain.

Horatio grabbed Frank's hand and put them over the wound.

"Keep pressure!" Horatio said and aimed his gun at the shooter in the corner. He almost hit him in the head, but the shooter managed to get away in the last second. Frank groaned. He was in pain, but not seriously injured.

"H, the third shooter is on the gas station roof." Ryan said.

The nearest gas station was one block away. There was no way that Horatio or the officers could hit the third shooter in their position. Eric called dispatch and told them to send officers to the gas station. Just as Ryan was about to take another shot at the shooter in the corner, he was shot in the back and fell down on the ground.

"Wolfe!" Eric yelled and looked down at him.

Ryan's eyes were closing slowly. Eric told him to stay awake.

"H, we need to get out of here!" Eric yelled, "Wolfe, stay with me!"

Horatio nodded and took a deep breath. He had four officers down, one possibly dead. Horatio crawled passed Ryan and Eric to get a better position. Without hesitation, he stood up and fired at the shooter. He hit him in the head. Horatio then ducked behind the car again, just as a bullet went passed his right ear.

"We still have a third shooter." Frank growled, "Get that son of a bitch!"

"I can't from here." Horatio said.

Suddenly everything went quiet. After a few minutes, they heard on the radio that the third shooter had been shot. Rescue was on their way. Within two minutes, Frank, Ryan, the shooter on the roof and one of the officers were taken to the hospital. The first officer who had been shot was dead. Horatio went to the hospital with Eric, closely behind the ambulance. As they reached the hospital, they saw Ryan and Frank being wheeled away. They were told to wait in the waiting area. As they waited for news on their friends and for the rest of the team to arrive, they simply sat in silence. Eric noticed how Horatio yawned several times and rubbed his eyes. He winced as Horatio coughed, because he knew it hurt.

"You need something to drink H?" Eric asked, "It may help."

"No, nothing helps." Horatio sighed and closed his eyes.

He leaned back in the chair and seemed to fall asleep. Eric went to get some coffee. He knew that he would stay a while in the hospital. After ten minutes, Alexx and Calleigh showed up.

"Hey, any news yet?" Calleigh asked.

"Not yet." Eric sighed, "Ryan is the one in worst condition."

"And Frank?" Alexx asked.

"Hit in the shoulder. One officer died and the other was hit in the waist, but not fatally."

"What a day." Calleigh sighed and sat down.

Alexx shook her head as she took a look at Horatio. He was taking short breaths as if he was having trouble to get air into his lungs. She gently shook him and he opened his eye.

"You okay?" She asked.

Horatio nodded and yawned again. Alexx nodded for him to follow her outside.

"We're going to take a little walk." Alexx said.

"Where' Nat?" Eric asked.

"She's keeping Stetler away and instructing the extra help on what to do. She told us to come here and she would join us as soon as possible." Calleigh said.

Alexx and Horatio left the room. Horatio was walking slowly. Alexx kept an eye on him. Once they came outside, Horatio took a deep breath and seemed much more alive.

"Feeling better?" Alexx asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"Maybe you should get checked by a doctor again." Alexx said, "Let me finish Horatio… I'm worried. We all are. And you are not getting any better. Something is wrong."

"And the doctors don't know what it is." Horatio said.

"How much did the doctor check last time? Did he x-ray you?"

"No, he just asked questions and listened to my heart and lungs." Horatio sighed.

"He should have checked more." Alexx sighed, "What if I get my friend to take a look?"

"Alexx, is it really necessary?"

"What have you got to loose?" Alexx asked.

"Okay." Horatio sighed and went back inside with Alexx.

Once they got back to the waiting area. Alexx went to find her friend. She came back quickly.

"He will be here in about an hour." Alexx said, "Any news on Ryan or Frank yet?"

"Nope. But I think we're about to find out." Calleigh said as nurse approached them.

"Are you here for Frank Tripp?" The nurse asked.

"Yes we are." Alexx said.

"Srgt. Tripp is doing very well. The bullet went straight through his shoulder but didn't hit anything." The nurse smiled, "He will make full recovery and is waiting for you in room 416. We want to keep him here overnight though."

"Thanks." Alexx smiled and got up with everybody else to see their friend.

When they entered Frank's room, they were greeted by a very angry Texan. Frank just wanted to leave. Alexx pushed him back into bed.

"Tomorrow you can go home." She said.

"Tomorrow? That's forever." Frank sighed, "I can't wait that long."

"You spend too much time with H. You're starting to sound like him." Eric smirked, "Seriously though Frank, how are you feeling?"

"Good." Frank said, "I was lucky."

"Yes you were." Alexx smiled, "Now be a good patient and don't scare the nurses."

"I've never done that have I?" Frank asked.

"Last time you were in the hospital, you growled so much that two nurses actually asked to transfer to another floor." Calleigh reminded.

"I was much younger back then, much more immature." Frank said.

"It was nine months ago." Eric chuckled.

"Nine months is a long time." Frank said, "You didn't bring H with ya?"

Alexx looked behind Eric and frowned. She was sure that Horatio had followed them. Eric peeked outside the room, but didn't see Horatio.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom." Calleigh suggested.

"I'll see where he went." Eric said and left the room.

He started walking back to the waiting area and found Horatio still sitting in his chair. His eyes weren't focusing on anything. Eric became worried and knelt down in front of his boss.

"H?" He asked.

He snapped his fingers in front of his face and Horatio blinked. He looked at Eric and shrugged.

"I guess I went to la-la-land for a while." Horatio sighed, "I'm sorry."

"H, are you sure that you're okay?" Eric asked.

Horatio nodded and stood up. He walked with Eric to Frank's room. Frank smiled as he saw his best friend. Then the door opened and the same nurse as before entered the room.

"I'm guessing you are also here for Ryan Wolfe?" She asked.

"That's correct." Alexx said.

"Dt. Wolfe has lost a lot of blood. He is in surgery right now to get the bullet out of him. But he is fine for now." The nurse smiled.

"Thank you." Alexx said and the nurse left, "Thank God that both you and Ryan are okay."

"Yeah I know." Frank smiled.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Horatio collapsed in his bed with a sigh. It was long after midnight. In fact, he had to get back to work in just four hours. He would disobey Alexx's orders about taking the day off. What would he do at home? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Alexx's doctor friend Martin had never shown up. Apparently, Martin had been forced to assist in surgery. But that didn't mean Horatio wouldn't have to meet him. Alexx would personally make sure that he was examined. Even if she had to force him with violence, she had said. Horatio chuckled and closed his eyes. As he expected his body refused to let him relax and get some sleep. His body was tired, he could feel it. His mind was tired. But it was as if an evil little man sat inside his brain and forced his mind and body to be his slave. An evil little man who never got tired. Maybe that evil man was Stetler?

Horatio chuckled again and shook his head. As he turned his head around, his eyes landed on the picture of Raymond. Horatio sighed. If Raymond had still been alive, he would have tied Horatio down to a hospital bed and demanded that the doctors told him what was wrong within a couple of hours. He sighed again, Horatio sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. It was going to be a long night. As he took a shower, he coughed again. This time though, he coughed up blood. Horatio looked confused at the blood in his hand.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked quietly.

He washed the blood off him and finished his shower. He felt much better as he stepped out of the bathroom and went to the kitchen. He made himself some coffee and sat down by the kitchen table. It was always during these sleepless nights that he started thinking about his life. And he always came to the same conclusion. He was meant to be alone.

As he walked around in his house, looking in every room. He felt the emptiness creeping up on him. It made him both sad and angry. He threw his coffee cup at the living room wall and sighed as it broke. Now he had to clean it up. Kneeling down he put the pieces in his hands and carried it to the trash. Deciding that there was nothing else he could do, he got inside his hummer and went for work. The lab was quiet when he arrived. The night shift was probably out on a scene. Their shift would end in one and a half hour. He sat down in his office and started doing paperwork. It never seemed to end. Not the paperwork. Not the violence. The cases just got more and more. It had been ages since he and his team had had a calm week.

**-I-**

"You don't look very happy." Natalia said as she sat down next to Ryan's bed.

It was early in the morning and since she hadn't visited Ryan last night, she had decided to stop by before work. Ryan and Natalia had started out as friends, then almost lovers. As she was exposed as the mole, he didn't try to contain his anger and hate. However, things worked out and now Ryan was one of her best friends. Ryan looked out for her and he liked her. But they were just friends. He knew about her love for Horatio and he waited for them to finally admit their feelings for each other. Ryan was more like a brother to her.

Ryan had survived the surgery last night. He would be in pain for a while and weak from the blood loss. However, he was expected to make full recovery. Since he had a tube down his throat to help him breath, he couldn't talk.

"I know you can't talk." Natalia said, "But I just came here to say good morning. Maybe you can give me a thumb up if you're feeling good."

Ryan gave her a thumb up and slowly closed his eyes. Natalia smiled and ruffled his hair. She knew he was tired. She told him about what had happened after he had been shot. Ryan listened the best he could. But he fell asleep before Natalia was done.

"Okay, I will see ya later." Natalia chuckled and gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

She drove back to the lab and shook her head she noticed her boss in the office. She knew he must have been there for several hours.

"Hey Nat!" Calleigh smiled as she and Eric got out of the elevator.

They walked with Natalia to the break room. She noticed how their smiles faded when they glanced at their boss. Everybody were worried about him. But he still said he was fine. He did admit to looking half-dead, but he was _fine._

They drank their morning coffee in silence in the break room. After a while, Horatio entered the break room.

"H, how are you today?" Eric asked.

"Fine." Horatio lied.

Eric rolled his eyes. He had a little trouble understanding why his boss just wouldn't take some time off and rest. Why he wouldn't just agree that he was _not fine_! It couldn't be so hard. Calleigh shook her head at Eric. Now wasn't the time to start arguing with Horatio. Because in the end, Horatio would keep on working and not rest.

"The shooter on the roof was not Derek Conan. And not the two dead shooters either." Horatio sighed, "He must have left the warehouse before the shooting."

"And he hasn't been found yet?" Calleigh asked.

"No. Eric you and I are going to take a little trip to his house and see if he's there. He wasn't there yesterday, but maybe today." Horatio said.

Eric nodded and stood up. Calleigh shook her at him again. She could see in his eyes that he would talk to Horatio. She just didn't think it would help. Horatio yawned as he and Eric walked towards their hummers.

"Can I ride with you, H?" Eric asked.

Horatio nodded and sat down in the driver's seat. Eric sat down next to him. The ride started in silence. Eric was determined to talk to his boss and friend. He didn't except that Horatio would open up to him and tell him all his secrets. However, he did hope that maybe he would understand Horatio a bit better, and maybe, _just maybe_, make Horatio see that something was wrong with him.

"H, how are you really feeling?" Eric asked.

"Fine."

"No, I mean the truth H. Don't lie to me. You always tell us not to lie to you. Yet you lie." Eric said, getting angrier as he could feel Horatio pull away from him.

"I am not lying."

"H, you could be lying dead in the middle of nowhere, bleeding from your eyes, ears, mouth and nose, and you still wouldn't admit that you weren't fine." Eric snapped, "Why is it so hard?"

"Eric, we're working. You're talking to your boss. As soon as work is over I will let you yell at me." Horatio growled.

"That's great! Use the whole boss-needs-to-have-respect-from-subordinates-thing!" Eric said, raising his voice.

He was worried. He just wanted his mentor to be fine. To truly be fine. But he wasn't! Horatio sighed heavily. He didn't have time to discuss his health with Eric. Of course he knew how worried everyone where, he wasn't blind! He could see it in their eyes; he could hear the talking about how he was sick. How he probably would collapse soon. He heard the whispers about him retiring or dying. He knew it all!

"Eric, whatever it is… I will work it out myself." Horatio said firmly.

"I don't believe this shit." Eric muttered.

Horatio looked sadly at him. He knew Eric just wanted to help him. But Horatio always had trouble taking help. He was so used to be able to take care of himself. To never get any help. That even when he needed it desperately, he chose to walk alone.

"Eric." Horatio sighed.

"Just don't, H." Eric snapped.

Horatio nodded. Fighting with Eric was probably the last thing he needed. As Horatio stopped outside Derek Conan's house, he and Eric got out of the car. With their guns un-holstered, they walked carefully towards the house. Eric knocked on the door. As soon as Derek's youngest daughter opened the door, they put their guns behind their backs.

"Hey sweetie. Is your dad home?" Horatio asked.

The girl shrugged and opened the door wider. Horatio and Eric stepped inside.

"Derek Conan? MDPD." Eric said.

Eric moved towards the bedroom, while Horatio walked to the living room. The little girl stayed in the kitchen. Singing to herself.

"H, come here." Eric said as he noticed a bloody handprint on the bedroom door. Horatio nodded for Eric to push the door opened wider. What they saw made them sick. Derek Conan's wife and oldest daughter were lying in the bed and on the floor, shot to death. There was blood spatter on the walls and the oldest daughter had tried to crawl away. Her body was lying in front of the closet, her little handprints on the closet door.

"Eric call it in and take care of the girl." Horatio said.

Eric nodded and left the room. Horatio sighed sadly. The oldest daughter was just 11 years old. And she had been brutally murdered, most likely by her own father. The wife was lying in the bed. She had probably woken up to her child's screams. She had been shot four times in her upper body. Horatio walked out in the kitchen and joined Eric and the girl. She was only eight.

"Where are mommy and daddy?" She asked.

"I don't know right now honey." Eric said.

He couldn't tell the little girl what had really happened. Not while she was still in the house. Patrol cars arrived and taped off the area. Horatio and Eric grabbed their kits and walked back into the bedroom. The little girl was taken care of by a uniform, until child services arrived.

"This is cold blood." Eric sighed, "Why didn't he shoot his youngest daughter? He didn't see any problems with shooting his wife and oldest girl."

"Well if this is Derek, and it probably is. Maybe he saved little Haley because she was the baby in the family."

"You mean like that man who killed his family several years ago? He shot his whole family, even the baby. But one of the kids was saved because the teenage boy rescued her."

"Exactly. Remember how we thought she lived just because she was considered the baby in the family. Maybe this is the same." Horatio said, "Or… Haley managed to hide. He couldn't find her…or he forgot about her."

"Well, if we find Derek maybe he can answer that for us." Eric sighed.

Horatio nodded and then got the sudden urge to throw up. He stepped outside in the hallway and took a few deep breaths. Eric shook his head. Horatio never acted like that. Before he got sick that is. Horatio started coughing. He sighed as he once again saw blood in his hands. He had to wipe it off before Eric noticed it. As he heard Eric approaching he quickly wiped the blood away on the inside of his jacket.

"You okay H?" Eric asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah." Horatio shrugged and joined Eric in the bedroom again.

Alexx arrived and immediately noticed how pale Horatio looked. She gave him a concerned look.

"I'm fine." Horatio told her.

Alexx shook her head. She had spoken to Martin and Horatio had an appointment with him today."Martin is ready to see you at lunch." Alexx said as she bent down next to the girl, "You should be at school at this hour honey."

"You made an appointment for me?" Horatio asked, feeling himself becoming agitated.

"Yes, you need to be examined." Alexx said.

"You make it sound like I'm contagious or something." Horatio snapped.

"Okay, H. Out we go." Eric said and gently led Horatio out of the room.

Alexx shook her head again. Horatio's lack of sleep and food made him easily agitated. She knew it. In the kitchen, Eric glared at Horatio.

"She's trying to help H. We all are." He said.

"Eric."

"No H. You need to listen okay? You are not well! You are sick. Very sick. It's not a cold or something. Because you've been sick for _weeks_ now." Eric snapped, "Stop saying that you're fine. Because it's a lie."

"Eric, get… um, get…Ale"

"I know that you are tired of being sick. And that you cannot relax or sleep. You don't even eat anymore. And those are all signs of something being wrong." Eric growled.

He was pacing around in the kitchen. Not noticing how Horatio was steadying himself on the kitchen counter, trying to breath. Alexx got tired of hearing Eric yelling and walked out to the kitchen. She immediately rushed to Horatio's side.

"Horatio, take deep breaths." She said.

Eric stopped pacing and looked at his boss.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry." He said.

"I can't." Horatio coughed.

"Horatio, if you don't take deep breaths you can't stop coughing either." Alexx said.

Horatio tried taking a few deep breaths, but ended up coughing again. This time Alexx saw the blood.

"Should I call for an ambulance?" Eric asked.

"No, I'll drive him to the hospital. You stay here." Alexx said.

Eric helped her get Horatio out to her van. As Alexx drove away, Eric called Natalia. He needed someone to help him with the scene. In the van, Horatio coughed and groaned in pain. He felt as if his chest was going to explode. Alexx looked at him with very concerned eyes. As soon as she stopped the car in the parking lot, a nurse met her. Eric had called ahead to the hospital after calling Natalia. Horatio was placed on a gurney and had an oxygen mask put over his mouth and nose. His eyes closed in pain and he felt himself getting very tired. He was so busy trying to breathe that he didn't notice the commotion around him. The nurse took a blood sample from him, then she took him to x-ray, CT-scan, MRI. Everything she could think of. Alexx was with Horatio the entire time.

**-I-**

Derek Conan was nervous. Very nervous as he once again sat in interrogation. But he couldn't show it. Eric and Natalia looked at him. They had processed the scene in three hours. Then processed the evidence in the lab for another hour. Everything had been top priority. The police had picked up Derek Conan thirty minutes ago as he was swimming in the ocean. His clothes were gone.

"Why did you put me in a prison uniform?" Derek asked.

"Well, we thought we'd make you comfortable in the clothes you will be wearing for the rest of your life." Natalia said, "We know what you did."

"Really and what is that?" Derek asked.

"You killed your family." Eric sighed, "You shot your daughter Melinda and your wife Cassie. But you let Haley live."

"Can you prove that… Dt?" Derek smirked.

"We found your fingerprints on the murder weapon, tossed in your garden. It was missing from your gun collection in the cellar." Natalia said, "There was no break-in, so whoever killed them had access to the house by a key."

"Well, that means that all my buddies could have done it." Derek said, "And of course my prints are on the weapon. It's mine after all!"

"Well, you were conveniently gone this morning as your wife and daughter was murdered." Eric said, "You took a swim instead of going to work. By swimming, you made sure to remove their blood from yourself. And the clothes… well, there are many ways you could have thrown them away."

"I like swimming. And if you check my schedule you will see that I don't start working until… now actually." Derek smirked, "There is no crime in taking a swim before work."

Natalia and Eric had to contain themselves from hitting the man in front of them. They knew he had a part in the murders and the shooting at the warehouse. However, they couldn't prove it.

"You walked in to a warehouse yesterday. The same warehouse in which several automatic guns were found and there was a shootout there." Natalia said.

"I had no idea about that. I just passed through." Derek said.

He knew exactly what Natalia and Eric were fishing for. They wanted a confession. But he had made sure that they couldn't pin anything on him.

"Why not kill Haley?" Eric asked.

"Ask the killer." Derek smirked.

Eric stood up and slammed his fists down on the table, "I am asking the killer!"

Natalia pushed Eric back in the chair. Derek chuckled.

"Easy there Dt. If you hurt me, I might have to sue you." Derek laughed.

"Derek… we know you did it." Natalia sighed.

"Prove it." Derek said, "I'm out of here… Detectives."

Derek smirked evilly as he left. He picked Haley up from the bench outside the room and kissed her on the cheek. He turned around and faced Natalia, smirking at her. He didn't bother to remove the prison uniform. Natalia sighed and sat down next to Eric. Eric sighed angrily.

"It's him. He killed his wife and daughter. You and I both know that." Eric growled.

"But without evidence we can't charge him for it."

"I know that!" Eric snapped, "And we can't prove that anybody else handled the murder weapon either."

Natalia nodded and sighed. She knew from the look in Derek's eyes that this was far from over. Something else was going to happen. She just hoped that Haley wasn't a part of it. The little girl had gone through enough in just a couple of hours.

**-I-**

Horatio groaned as he sat up in bed. He immediately recognized the hospital environment. He climbed out of bed and put his clothes on. He threw the hospital gown on the floor and walked towards the door. Just as he was about to open it, it flew right up in his face.

"Ops! Sorry about that H." Frank said as he helped Horatio back on his feet, "They let you go?"

"Yes." Horatio lied.

"That's funny. The nurse outside just told me to make sure that you stayed in bed." Frank smiled, "H, being at the hospital isn't so bad."

"Frank let me pass." Horatio said.

Frank shook his head and stood in the doorway. Horatio sighed angrily and pushed Frank backwards. Frank gasped and looked at his friend. He saw fear in his eyes.

"H, what's going on with you?" He asked, "This is not you."

"Get out of my fucking way!" Horatio growled and tried to run past Frank.

Frank only had one arm to use. He grabbed Horatio's shirt with his hand and held onto him as Horatio tried to desperately get away. Horatio was kicking with his feet. Frank was shocked. He had never seen Horatio afraid before. He knew that it was fear that made Horatio want to run. Something about hospitals scared the shit out of the Lt. Alexx, who had gone for some coffee, heard Frank yelling at Horatio to calm down. She dropped her coffee and ran towards them.

"Horatio, get back in bed!" She growled.

Horatio kicked Frank's leg and Frank tripped backwards. He lost his grip of the red head and Horatio saw his way out. He ran passed Alexx and towards the elevator. Frank got steady on his feet and ran with Alexx after Horatio.

"Has he ever told you that he's afraid of hospitals?" Frank asked as they ran down the stairs.

"No, but I've always suspected it." Alexx said.

Just as they ran out on the parking lot, they could see Horatio running out on the streets.

"He doesn't know what he's doing Frank. He's too tired and weak to think clearly." Alexx said as she and Frank ran after Horatio. By now, Martin and a nurse had joined them. Horatio blinked several times. All he saw in front of him when he was at the hospital was his uncle. The man who had been a doctor and made sure that Horatio's visits to the hospital had been hell. Every time Horatio had been beaten by his father so badly that they had been forced to seek up a hospital, his uncle had been there. Making sure that Horatio didn't get any painkillers. Making sure that his father could still cause him pain while he was there. He had to get out. He had to run to the place he felt safe. The beach.

"He's fast!" Martin panted.

Horatio got further and further away. He and the others stopped running as they lost track of him.

"Shit!" Frank growled, "Could he be seeing things that aren't real?"

"With the lack of sleep he has. Definitely. Look, he's very sick. I need to get him back." Martin panted, "Where could he possibly go?"

"The beach." Alexx said, "Frank, let's drive to the beach outside his house."

While Alexx and Frank walked back to the parking lot to find a car. Horatio kept on running. He heard his mother's voice the entire time. She told him to run and hide. Horatio groaned and stopped. He coughed and started panting. He tried to take a few deep breaths but it was so hard. He kept on walking. He was almost at his beach. As soon as he felt the sand under his feet. He sighed in relief and walked towards the ocean. Everything was spinning. When he looked down at his feet, he saw six feet instead of two. He shook his head, which only made things worse. He lost consciousness and fell down in the sand, just as a car pulled up at his driveway.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Poor Horatio, I always torture him. *evil laughter*. Lol, nah, I try not to though. **


	3. Chapter 3

Alexx and Frank quickly ran through Horatio's house, checking every room quickly in case he had decided to go inside. They opened the porch door and saw Horatio's body lying on the beach. They ran to him and Frank called for an ambulance.

"Horatio baby, open your eyes." Alexx said and gently shook him.

Horatio didn't respond. He was out cold. Alexx sighed. Whatever Horatio had, it was bad. The ambulance arrived shortly and put Horatio on a gurney. Alexx went with them, while Frank followed in his car. Horatio's body was exhausted as well as his brain. He needed to rest, desperately. When they arrived at the hospital, Martin led them to the ICU. He asked Alexx to wait outside, while he examined Horatio again. Just to make sure that nothing had changed. Frank sighed as he sat down in the hallway with Alexx.

"Martin has probably figured out what is wrong. But he won't tell us what it is, unless Horatio wants him to." Alexx sighed.

"Well, then I guess we'll have to wait for Horatio to wake up." Frank said.

The door opened and Martin exited the room. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He knew that Alexx and Frank wanted to know what was wrong, but Horatio had to be the first one to be told what he was suffering from.

"All I can tell you is that it is very bad." Martin said sadly, "And I mean very, very bad."

"Fatal?" Alexx asked.

Martin nodded. He couldn't tell them anything else so he left Alexx and Frank alone. Alexx felt tears falling from her eyes.

"Fatal doesn't necessarily mean that he can't survive." Frank said hopefully.

Alexx had to smile. Frank was always positive. However, Alexx had a bad feeling. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew that Horatio could die. She knew it. She hoped with her whole heart that he wouldn't. However, things didn't look good for the red head.

"I have to get back to MDPD." Frank sighed.

"I'll stay a while with Horatio." Alexx said and they parted.

Alexx entered Horatio's room. He had a nasal cannula and he looked terrible. He was pale and thin. It was very obvious that he had lost a lot of weight. Alexx sat down next to his bed and gently squeezed his hand.

"Please fight Horatio." She whispered.

**-I-**

Eric and Natalia were sitting in the break room. They were getting nowhere with their case. They were resting their heads against the table. Everything was bad. Their boss was sick and the case was at a dead end. They just didn't feel like working. The door opened and Calleigh sighed as she looked at her boyfriend and Natalia.

"Stop being lazy." She said, "Do something!"

"Like what?" Natalia asked.

"Solve the case. Don't just sit here."

"We're at a dead end." Eric sighed.

"Really? Why haven't you interviewed Derek's friends? Checked his phone records?" Calleigh asked, "Have you interviewed Haley?"

"The woman from child services did that. The girl didn't see anything." Natalia sighed.

"Where was she during the murders?" Calleigh asked.

"In the play room." Eric said, "She was busy playing and she said that there was loud music in the house. She didn't hear the shots."

"Have you printed the stereo?" Calleigh asked.

Eric sat up and blushed. He was a CSI level three. He should know better! Natalia looked down at the floor ashamed. She and Eric had dismissed Haley's testimony completely. Not bothering to check if it was possible for her not to hear anything.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Calleigh asked," Check the stereo!"

Natalia stood up quickly and left the room to grab her kit. Eric smiled at Calleigh and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I love it when you're angry." He said and left.

Calleigh chuckled and followed her teammates. They needed all the people they could get on this case. Eric and Calleigh drove in one car and Natalia in the other. They arrived at the crime scene. Derek and his daughter were living at a hotel for now, until their house was no longer a crime scene. Calleigh sighed sadly, as she entered the house. It was beautiful, like an American dream house.

"I wonder if the neighbors had any idea what went on behind these walls." Calleigh said.

"The officers interviewed them; nobody heard or saw a thing." Eric said, "I am not surprised though. Derek is a sick bastard, he probably scared them all to silence."

Calleigh smirked evilly and left the house. She walked to the next-door neighbor and knocked on the door. The neighbor looked out the window and got nervous when he saw Calleigh's badge. Calleigh noticed how the curtains moved and grinned.

"I know you're home!" Calleigh said.

Natalia joined her, while Eric printed the stereo in the house. The door opened and a young man introduced himself as Blake Garner.

"Hello Blake, I'm Calleigh Duquesne. CSI." Calleigh smirked, "Did you notice anything going on earlier today in your neighbor's house?"

"No, I didn't." Blake said, avoiding eye contact.

Calleigh sighed angrily and grabbed Blake's shirt. She pushed him up against the wall. Blake looked at her with fear in his eyes.

"Calleigh!" Natalia said, "Easy."

"Blake, I am pregnant and a cop. That is a very dangerous combination! Now, I want to know if you noticed anything strange in your neighbor's house earlier today."

"I'm um… I… did see something." Blake stuttered.

Calleigh let go of him and glared at Blake. Blake was shaking.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" Calleigh asked, "What did you see?"

"I saw a man leave the house… his shirt was bloody. Mr. Conan told me to keep my mouth shut." Blake sighed, "Look, Mr. Conan is an asshole. He has this entire neighbor hood in his power… you can't get him."

"Will you help us get him?" Natalia asked.

"No… I can't."

"Blake…" Calleigh growled, "A woman and her daughter was murdered there. In cold blood. And the man possibly responsible for ordering the hit is a free man, now taking care of his other daughter. Do you think it's safe for her to be with him?"

"Is it safe for me and my family if I witness?" Blake snapped.

"We can make it safe." Calleigh said.

"By making us change our identity. No thank you. I live perfectly well here." Blake said.

"Really? Aren't you scared when you leave your house? When your family goes out? Because you know what Derek Conan and his hitmen can do?" Natalia asked.

"Everyday I fear for my family's life."

"So please help us." Calleigh said.

"No, I can't do it." Blake sighed and closed the door.

Calleigh growled and walked back to the house in anger. Natalia shook her head. They both understood Blake's fear, but they also needed his testimony. Without it, Derek could continue to be a free man. Eric smiled as he walked towards the two women.

"I got a bunch of fingerprints from the stereo." He said, "Hopefully we can find a match."

Calleigh told Eric what Blake had said. Eric sighed sadly, as he understood that they wouldn't get any help from Blake.

**-I-**

Ryan groaned as he shifted in bed. The doctors were happy that he was recovering quickly. Even though it had only been a couple of hours since he had woken up. He was breathing with the help of a nasal cannula. He missed work. However, lying in a bed all day, doing nothing was quite a good vacation.

"Feeling better?" Alexx asked as she entered the room.

"Much better." Ryan sighed, "Please tell me you've got good news?"

Alexx shook her head. During all the commotion about Horatio, she had forgotten about her boy Ryan. She felt guilty and had decided to tell him everything and stay with him for a while.

"Horatio isn't doing very good." She said, "We don't know why. Because his doctor Martin won't tell us, before he has told Horatio."

"So why doesn't he just tell him?" Ryan asked.

"He's unconscious." Alexx sighed, "He freaked out in the hospital and ran home. Collapsed on the beach and has been in the ICU since then."

"Wow… so he still hasn't woken up?"

"No, not that I know of." Alexx sighed, "I can see that you're getting tired. You should rest."

Ryan nodded and yawned. His eyes started closing. Alexx sat with him for a while longer, before going back to the morgue. If she didn't, Stetler would visit her and ruin her day more. She wasn't sure if things could get worse. But a visit from Stetler was the last thing she wanted.

Ryan thought about Horatio before he really fell asleep. Horatio was not the kind of person who got sick and freak out. He had never seen Horatio scared. Not once. He wondered if anyone had ever seen Horatio freak out or sick. He wanted to get better so that he could help somehow. If Horatio was very sick, then Ryan wanted to be there.

Alexx ruffled Ryan's hair before leaving. As she drove back to the morgue she kept thinking about all the fatal diseases that Horatio could have. She had seen the look in Martin's eyes, and he didn't believe that Horatio would recover. Alexx didn't make it further then to the parking lot, before the team surrounded her and asked her about Horatio and Ryan.

"Ryan is doing a lot better. He is recovering quickly. Nothing has changed with Horatio yet." Alexx said.

"Okay, well that's good." Calleigh said, "What are going to do now?"

"Well, we still have a case to solve, don't we?" Natalia asked.

The CSI sighed and walked back to the lab. Everybody had a hard time focusing on their job. They growled as they stepped out of the elevator and saw Stetler waiting for them. Since Calleigh was in charge, he started walking beside her to her lab.

"How is Lt. Caine?" He asked, unable to hide a smirk.

"Fine." Calleigh said, "Why do you even care?"

"Well, if he has to retire… there is a chance that I will get his job." Rick grinned.

Calleigh started laughing. She actually doubled over and had to steady herself against the wall. Rick looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Cooper and Valera had heard the whole conversation and didn't like what Rick had said. While Calleigh was busy laughing, they quickly filled a few balloons with soap instead of water and hid behind a corner.

"What are you guys doing?" Ryan asked.

"Messing with Rick." Valera shrugged.

Ryan smirked and grabbed two balloons. Before he could leave, Frank appeared and wanted to join in. Then Eric did the same. Soon, Rick would be hit from five different angles.

"I hope we don't hit Cal." Cooper said.

"Duquesne, grow up!" Rick growled, "You are…"

Rick gasped as he was hit by ten balloons (everybody had two balloons each) filled with soap. Most of the balloons hit him in the face. Valera threw her last balloon at his crotch and Rick doubled over in pain. ´

"You guys are so dead!" Rick growled and tried to stand up.

Calleigh stopped laughing and stood up straight. She waited for Rick to stop whining.

"Go back to work!" She snapped at her co-workers.

Rick hissed in pain as he stood up and tried to keep up with Calleigh as she walked down the hallway.

"You planned that, didn't ya?" Rick asked.

"Nope." Calleigh said.

"Why did you laugh?"

"Because… I know that you will never become boss over this lab." She smiled, "The chief and Horatio have always said that I will take over in the lab if Horatio leaves."

Rick growled and left. Calleigh smirked evilly as she watched him leave. The chief wasn't stupid enough to put Rick in charge of the lab. He knew that if he did that, then almost everyone on the day shift would quit and transfer to another department.

**-I-**

Horatio noticed that it was night the moment he opened his eyes. It was dark outside the window. He groaned as he sat up in the bed. He knew he had freaked out earlier and he took deep breaths to keep himself from doing it again. He was tired, though he understood that he must have been sleeping for a very long time. He was about to get off the bed when the door opened and Martin walked inside.

"Hello Horatio." Martin said, "Get back in bed, please."

Horatio sighed and lay down in bed again. His head was aching and he felt so weak. Martin sat down on a chair beside the bed and observed Horatio.

"What is it about hospitals that scare you?" He asked.

"Childhood memory." Horatio said quietly, "Have you figured out what's wrong with me?"

"Yes I have… um, I doesn't look good Horatio." Martins said sadly.

Horatio became more alert and sat up in the bed. He looked at Martin with disbelief in his eyes. He had thought that maybe he had some sort of a virus that was like a bad flue. However, Martin's eyes told him it was something much worse.

"What is it?" Horatio asked.

"Do you want me to you just tell you straight away?" Martin asked.

"Of course."

"Okay." Martin said and took a deep breath, "You have stage 4 of lung cancer."

Horatio was stunned. He stared at Martin. Martin just nodded. He didn't know what else to say. Martin rarely had to be the one to tell patients that they had cancer. He hated it when he did have to do it though.

"Stage 4... That sounds very… bad." Horatio said.

"It is…" Martin sighed, "Horatio… you have 6 months left to live."

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Well, now you know what's wrong with him. But the journey isn't over for H yet. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Horatio felt like he was dreaming. It had to be a dream. It couldn't be true. He wasn't aware that he was staring at Martin. He just felt lost. He suddenly had his whole world turned upside down. He had never been this stunned before. What would he do from now on? Just wait for his _last_ day to come?

"Horatio…" Martin said, "I'm sorry."

"It can't be true." Horatio said.

"It is. The tests confirmed it for me. When I heard about your symptoms I suspected that it was lung cancer." Martin sighed, "As I said, the tests confirmed it for me."

"But…I can't just… I..." Horatio stammered.

Martin gently placed a hand on Horatio's shoulder. The red head looked at him. Martin saw the panic in his eyes, and the sadness.

"But you have to be able to cure me." Horatio said.

Martin glanced away. He hated it when someone had so much hope in their voice and he had to take away all that hope. He had to crush their _last hope of survival_.

"No." Martin said sadly.

"Chemo?"

"It will make the symptoms you're having less noticeable, but you will still… die." Martin sighed, "You're cancer has spread too much. It is still spreading. There is nothing we can do."

Horatio stood up and walked over the window. He had so many thoughts running through his mind. He could feel his heart rate increase and he tried to take a few deep breaths. He needed to get out of the hospital. He couldn't stay. He just wanted to go home and be left alone. Before Martin could react, Horatio ran passed him and through the hallway. Martin ran after him, but Horatio was too fast. Once Horatio took the elevator down to the hospital he relaxed a little. As he was standing in the parking lot, he noticed that he was just wearing a hospital gown. He sighed and went back up his room.

"You came back. Good." Martin said as he bumped into Horatio, just as the red head exited the elevator.

"I need to get my clothes." Horatio said and walked passed Martin, towards his room.

Martin walked beside him. He couldn't stop the red head. Horatio got dressed in his room and left again, this time he didn't run. Martin wanted to say something. Something that would comfort Horatio, but he didn't know what to say. As he watched Horatio take the elevator down to the parking lot again, he called Alexx and told her to talk to Horatio. He didn't tell her what was wrong with Horatio, just that he probably needed someone to talk to.

Horatio walked back to his house. It wasn't far and he needed the fresh air. His whole life was going to be thrown away in just _six_ months. He would leave his loved ones behind. He couldn't do that! He didn't want to do that. He still wanted to live. He wanted to do so much and now his time was limited. He felt a tear make its way down his cheek. He still felt as if he was dreaming.

**-I-**

Eric smirked evilly as he found Frank asleep at his desk. He looked around to see if anyone was watching. When the coast was clear, he sneaked towards Frank. He had two party horns with him. Frank was snoring loudly. Trying not to laugh aloud, Eric put the two party horns in each of Frank's nostrils. He had to cover his mouth as the party horns made noises every time Frank exhaled through his nose.

"This has to be caught on video." Eric chuckled and started videotaping the whole thing with his cell phone.

Poor little Frank had no idea what was going on. He sighed heavily and turned his head around. Eric sighed and walked to the other side. He wanted to catch Frank's face on video the whole time.

"Three more minutes, mommy." Frank mumbled.

Eric had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing. Not only did Frank snore loudly. He also talked in his sleep.

"What else can you do Frank?" Eric asked quietly.

Frank mumbled something and turned his head around again. He was dangerously close to the edge of the table with his head now. Eric just waited for him to fall off his chair.

"Yummy." Frank mumbled.

He then exhaled heavily through his nose, the party horns blared and Frank woke up with a girlish scream. He jerked backwards and fell of the chair down on the floor. Eric doubled over and actually fell to the floor himself, from laughing so hard. Frank pulled the party horns out of his nostrils and glared at Eric.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked.

Eric was too busy laughing to answer. Frank stood up and walked over to Eric. Eric was now watching the video he had just recorded. Frank tried to grab the phone, but Eric was faster. Frank bent down and grabbed Eric's hands. Eric threw the phone away. Frank let go of him and ran for the phone. Eric grabbed his legs and pulled Frank down.

"Don't you dare touch my phone!" He growled and jumped over Frank.

Frank growled and grabbed Eric from behind and Eric dropped the phone. Frank kicked it away and released his grip on Eric. They both ran towards the phone and bumped into each other and knocked each other down on the floor. Eric reached out for the phone and managed to grab it. He stood up and was just about to run away, when Frank grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back. Eric did the only thing he could think of to get away from Frank. Something he had seen it in movies and had worked on some of his ex-girlfriends.

_He kissed Frank right on the lips!_

Frank let go of Eric and just stared at him. Eric gasped as he seemed to realize that he wasn't in a movie or with a girl.

"I did NOT mean to do that!" Eric said, his face becoming red.

Frank just stared at him. Completely stunned and shook his head. Eric blushed and ran away to the lab. Frank shrugged. Eric was screaming as he banged his head against his locker. Natalia walked inside the locker room and looked confused at him.

"Is banging your head against your locker making things feel better?" She asked.

"No!" Eric snapped, "I'm so stupid!"

"That's nothing new." Natalia teased.

Eric glared at her and then sat down on a bench. He sighed as he covered his face with his hands. He had never felt so stupid before. He had kissed Frank! Not a deep kiss, just a little peck on the lips. But still! He would never be able to look Frank in the eyes again!

"I have to resign." Eric mumbled.

"What? Why?"

"Because I kissed…" Eric said and then stopped.

"You kissed Frank?" Natalia asked.

"You knew?"

"No, but you just told me." Natalia laughed.

Eric stood up and started pacing. He felt so ashamed. He had to hide forever now. Hide from Frank. Eric had nothing against gay people, he just wasn't gay himself. He had Calleigh for God's sake.

"Why did you kiss him?" Natalia asked.

"We were fighting over my phone. And when he held me captured and did the only thing I could think of."

"And that was to _kiss_ him?" Natalia asked, chuckling.

"I thought about what they do in the movies, and what works on my ex-girlfriends." Eric sighed, "It worked on Frank too, but I… kissed… Frank!"

Natalia laughed aloud and wiped the tears away from her eyes. Eric sighed and shook his head.

"I can't look at him again. Ever." He said.

"Eric, will it make you feel better if I told you that Cooper planned it?" Natalia asked.

"What?!" Eric exclaimed.

"He found out about the prank you wanted to pull on Frank. Cooper planned his own prank with him. Frank would pretend to fall asleep to get your attention. Then fight with you over the phone."

"And how does the kiss fit into it?" Eric asked.

"That wasn't planned." Natalia said, "Frank was supposed to get the phone and then find videos of you on it and send it to everyone in the lab."

"I'm going to kill them both!" Eric growled and left the break room.

Natalia ran after him and stopped him, just as he was about to enter Cooper's lab.

"Eric, think about revenge instead." Natalia smiled.

Eric shook his head and opened the door to Cooper's lab. Natalia chuckled and left. Eric then started yelling at Cooper, who had no idea what he was talking about. Frank showed up and a blushing Eric then told them what Natalia had told him. Frank and Cooper denied everything.

"She heard you plan it all!" Eric exclaimed.

"She's lying." Cooper said, "I would never pull a prank on you."

"Why don't we talk to Natalia instead?" Frank asked, "Eric stop blushing. It's no big deal."

Eric blushed even more and then followed Frank and Cooper to find Natalia.

**-I-**

Alexx knocked on the door again. She had been standing outside Horatio's house for ten minutes. He was home, but refused to open the door. He had told her to go away. Alexx hadn't heard anything from him in over three minutes.

"Horatio open the door." Alexx said, "Please honey."

She put her ear against the door and listened. She couldn't hear any movement from behind the wall. She became worried. Whatever Martin had told Horatio it was bad and had made him shut her out. And Horatio only did that when he was giving up. _Giving up on life_. Just as Alexx was about to knock on the door again, it opened. Horatio looked at her with sad eyes.

"Horatio, can I come in?" Alexx asked.

Horatio nodded and stepped aside. Alexx walked inside and turned to look at her friend. He must have received terrible news. Horatio walked towards his living room, Alexx noticed how he no longer walked with his usual cat-like graze. It was as if his feet were too heavy for him to lift. He slumped down on the couch and sighed heavily. Alexx sat down next to him and gently squeezed his hand.

"What's happened baby?" She asked.

Horatio looked away. Maybe if he didn't tell her then she wouldn't spend the coming six months worrying about him. Fearing for his death. She wouldn't think about the constant death mark on Horatio. Not count the days. Horatio would most certainly count days.

"Horatio, whatever it is you can tell me." Alexx smiled softly.

"I'm going to die Alexx." Horatio said quietly.

Alexx looked at him. Horatio wasn't known to exaggerate. But now she was sure that he thought things were worse then they actually were. Maybe it was just that he had to stay home for a few weeks to get better and he felt as if that would kill him. Surely, he wouldn't literally die.

"Horatio, it's not that bad." Alexx smiled, "Did Martin tell you to stay home and rest until you got better? It won't kill you."

"Alexx, I am _literally_ going to die." Horatio said.

It broke his heart to have to tell one of his best friends that he was going to die. He had such a hard time believing it himself. Alexx looked at him for a long time. Reality sinking in.

"But… you can't die? It's just a bad flue, isn't it?" Alexx said.

She was a doctor. All her medical skills told her to really see what Horatio had been like in the past two months, she was already suspecting what type of illness he had. But the other part of her told her that it was just a joke. Not such a funny joke, but still a joke. Horatio Caine couldn't die. He just couldn't!

"I have lung cancer. Stage 4." Horatio sighed, "There is nothing Martin can do. Chemo won't make any difference."

"Horatio, please tell me this is a joke." Alexx begged.

Tears were running down her cheeks. It felt as if her heart had been ripped away from her body. It hurt to be told that Horatio, her friend, someone she loved and cared for, would die. Her mind didn't want to accept that information.

"I have 6 months left, Alexx." Horatio sighed.

He could barely keep it together. _Six months_. Usually he would have said that it felt like an eternity. But now it felt as if he might as well die the following morning. Time always went by faster than expected. Usually he wouldn't have cared about how fast time passed. However, now he did. Because his time, it was limited.

"But… just like that? Lung cancer?" Alexx asked, "Martin must be wrong."

"Has he ever been wrong before?" Horatio asked.

He took Alexx's silence as a no. Martin was correct. Horatio had nothing left to do... then to die. And trying to cope with the fear of dying. He hated not being prepared. He had no idea what it would feel like to die!

"Horatio, this is just… crazy!" Alexx exclaimed.

Horatio hugged her tightly. He knew that it was a big shock for her. As it was for him. Alexx cried as she suddenly realized what had happened.

"I don't know what to do." Horatio said quietly.

"Live." Alexx said, "Live as much as you can everyday."

"Alexx, I can't leave Miami yet. I'm not ready to die." Horatio said, his voice cracking with emotions.

"I know baby. I know." Alexx said, "I can't tell you exactly what to do. I don't know myself what will happen from now on."

"But I can't leave the lab. The team. My family." Horatio sighed, "I just can't. Why does this have to happen to me? I hate talking like this, but why?"

"I don't know honey." Alexx said sadly and gently caressed his cheek.

Horatio stood up and walked towards his bedroom. He slammed the door shut. He felt like hiding from the world. If he did, maybe his death would be easier to handle. He could hear Alexx calling his name from the other side of the door. Horatio cried as he thought about all the people he would leave.

**-I-**

Calleigh and Natalia were laughing as Cooper, Eric and Frank confronted Natalia. The boys looked confused at them. Had Calleigh planned it with Natalia? They were in Calleigh's lab, where Natalia had been hiding during the boy's argument.

"We tricked you guys!" Calleigh laughed, "We planned the whole thing."

"What?!" Cooper exclaimed, "How? Why?"

"I remember Eric telling me about movie scene when a character kissed another to distract them. He said he loved scenes like that and had tried it while fighting with his exes." Calleigh chuckled, "And then two days ago he told me about the prank he would pull on Frank. That's when I saw my chance. I bet Natalia that I could make Eric kiss Frank. She didn't believe me."

"And then?" Frank asked.

"Well, I found out rather quickly that Eric had kissed Frank, since Calleigh had been watching you two. So I bet against her that I could fool the three of you and make you argue with each other." Natalia smiled, "We both won and lost."

"How much money did you win?" Eric asked.

"None. If I lost my bet, I would have to mow her lawn three Sundays in a row." Calleigh smiled, "Which means that you will do it honey."

"Me?" Eric asked.

"Well, I am very pregnant, I can't do it." Calleigh smirked.

"What if I refuse?" Eric asked.

"Then you'll be sleeping on the couch for five months." Calleigh smirked evilly.

"Well, Natalia lost her bet when Eric kissed Frank, what does she have to do?" Cooper asked.

"Tell Horatio how she feels." Calleigh smiled.

Natalia blushed. It wasn't really a secret that she loved the red head. Well, it was only a secret for Horatio. But she was nervous every time she was around him. And now that he was sick, she wasn't sure if he would have time to deal with her feelings towards him. They all jerked as Alexx cleared her throat from behind them.

"Hey Alexx!" Calleigh smiled.

Her smiled faded when she saw the look in Alexx's eyes. They all knew she was going to tell them bad news. Alexx had been gone for almost three hours.

"I have something I have to tell you." Alexx said, "I don't think Horatio can do it, because he still so shocked."

"What's wrong with H?" Eric asked, "Have they figured out what's wrong with him?"

"Yes, and it's not good." Alexx sighed.

Calleigh started crying. She knew Alexx and when she looked into her eyes she saw how bad it really was. Eric hugged her and looked confused at Alexx. Frank also knew something was very bad. He was afraid of what it would be.

"Tell us, Alexx." Frank said.

"Horatio has lung cancer. He only has six months left." Alexx sighed.

The team stared at her. Calleigh stopped crying and just looked at Alexx. Alexx nodded and wiped her tears away. It broke her heart to tell them, but she had to. They all had to be there for Horatio now. Horatio was still in his bedroom. He was sleeping in his bed. Everything that had happened during the day had made him both physically and mentally exhausted. Calleigh started sobbing.

"You're lying!" Natalia growled and pushed past Alexx.

She ran to the locker room and opened her locker. She looked at the picture on her door. It was a picture of the team, taken on Christmas Eve. She ran her finger over Horatio's face and sobbed. She heard footsteps and looked up into the eyes of Frank.

"She's lying." Natalia said, "He's not dying!"

"Nat, she would never lie about something like that." Frank said.

He couldn't believe his own words. He hugged Natalia and she cried against his chest. Frank was also crying. A man he had known for many years was dying. And it wasn't just any man. It was a man that was needed. He was loved so dearly and Frank wasn't sure if the team would be able to function without him. Frank and Natalia stood in the same position for almost thirty minutes.

"Well, well, well. Tripp and Boa Vista." A male voice said from behind Frank.

Frank let go of Natalia and turned around to face Rick Stetler.

"Rumours spread fast around here. I just heard that Horatio is dying." Rick smirked

Natalia growled and did something she had never thought she would do. She hit Rick across the face! Rick stumbled backwards and leaned against some lockers. His nose was bleeding. Frank held Natalia back, before she could hit Rick again.

"You son of a bitch!" Natalia growled, "You have no feelings! No respect!"

Rick looked angrily at Natalia.

"You're suspended!" He growled, "For two weeks."

"I hate you Rick!" Natalia yelled.

Rick shook his head as he walked away. Natalia sobbed as Frank held her in his arms. Natalia cried for an hour, before she finally were able to head home. Rick was put as temporarily head of the crime lab. He smirked evilly as he passed Calleigh in the hallway, towards Horatio's office. Which would now be_ his_ office.

"I told you I would be in charge." He said.

"That's only because I'm pregnant. If this wasn't my last week here, I would be in charge." Calleigh growled.

Rick chuckled and walked in to the office. He sat down by the desk and smiled. The first thing he did was to print out a list of all the employees on the day shift. Then he saw a few names and drew a line over them.

_**Calleigh Duquesne**_

_**Natalia Boa Vista**_

_**Alexx Woods**_

"Ladies, you are fired." Rick smirked.

_**TBC...**_

**AN: Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Rick smirked evilly as he walked towards the morgue. He spotted Alexx and tried to control himself, so that he wouldn't rush in and deliver the good news. Well, good news for him. Not so good for her. He opened the door and smiled as he stood by the autopsy table. Alexx sighed and looked at him.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Is that how you speak to your superior?" Rick asked, "No wonder that Horatio is sick. Nobody here seems to respect him."

"Rick, we all love and respect him. So don't even start arguing with me about it." Alexx growled.

"Alright. I will get to the reason of my visit."

"You actually have a reason to be here? Wow, I'm surprised." Alexx snorted.

Rick chuckled. He would enjoy this more now that Alexx didn't think that he was down here for a particularly good reason. She thought he was just snooping around. Oh, she would be so wrong.

"Well, I looked at the list of everybody who works here in the lab and morgue." Rick said, "And I decided I needed to fire a few people."

"I'm not letting anyone of my guys go." Alexx said firmly.

Rick had to contain his laughter. She still didn't see it! She didn't have to worry. Her guys would be safe.

"Well, I'm not here to fire anyone of them." Rick smirked, "I'm here to fire you."

"Me?" Alexx exclaimed, "Why me?"

"Oh, I'm sure there is someone younger and better out there who may need this job more than you."

Alexx picked up a scalpel and pointed at Rick with it. Rick didn't even flinch.

"This has better be some sort of sick joke." She growled.

"It's not. You've been here too long. I want a pair of new eyes." Rick said, "You're fired Dr. Woods. Grab your stuff and leave MDPD by the end of the day."

Rick left a stunned Alexx by herself. Alexx felt empty. Her whole life was basically being thrown away. She loved her job, as weird as it may sound, it was true. He couldn't take her job away from her! It had to be a mistake. Alexx growled as started to collect her things. Tears were falling from her eyes and she threw her things down in a box.

Rick wasn't done however. He still had one more person to see. Natalia was suspended, so he would wait to fire her until she came back. But one person on the list was still in the lab. Rick grinned as he entered the ballistic lab. Calleigh didn't have to turn around to know who was watching her.

"Get out, Rick." She snapped, "I don't have the energy to deal with you."

"Well, I have the energy to deal with you." Rick smirked, "Pack up your things and get out."

Calleigh turned around and glared at Rick. Rick nodded and gave her an evil smile.

"What?" Calleigh asked.

"You're fired. You have to be out of there by the end of the day." Rick said.

Calleigh gasped and just looked stunned at Rick. It felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her body. She couldn't leave her precious lab!

"Rick… it's not funny." She panted.

She was beginning to get breathless. She couldn't breathe. She could barely stand on her legs. Rick didn't seem to notice.

"It's not supposed to be. You're pregnant and will go on maternity leave. I don't need you anymore." Rick said and turned to leave.

Calleigh gasped and wrapped an arm around her belly, while using the other arm to stand up straight. Rick turned around at her gasp and smiled. He didn't care if the brat in her belly got hurt.

"Take care of yourself, Duquesne." He smirked and left.

"Rick… oh god… get Eric please." Calleigh said, but Rick wasn't there anymore.

Calleigh started crying as pain shot through her entire body. She slid down on the floor and tried to breathe. She could feel the baby kick.

"Somebody… please… Help me!" Calleigh panted.

She couldn't believe what was happening. Luckily, Frank entered the lab and saw Calleigh sitting on the floor. Calleigh sobbed as she reached out a hand for Frank. Frank grabbed it.

"You're in labour Cal." He said, "I'll call Eric."

As Frank called Eric, Calleigh's water broke. She looked down at her wet pants and started becoming hysterical. She couldn't give birth in her lab. She needed to get out! She was fired and about to give birth!

"Calleigh, what did Rick say to you?" Frank asked.

He had seen Rick leave her lab with a smirk on his face.

"He fired me." Calleigh sobbed, "Frank I can't do this. I can't be a mom yet!"

"You have no choice." Frank said.

Frank cursed at Rick. He had obviously triggered Calleigh's labour. Frank knew that a lot of stress could do that to a pregnant woman. His ex-wife had given birth six weeks too early to her second child, after receiving the news that her father had died. Frank squeezed Calleigh's hand as she got a contraction.

"Eric!" Calleigh sighed in relief as he boyfriend ran in to the lab.

Eric kissed her and then picked her up in his arms. He had called for an ambulance and was going to met them in the parking lot. Frank helped steady him.

"Rick fired me." Calleigh sobbed, "And then I started feeling contractions."

"It's going to be alright, honey." Eric said, "Rick will pay for this."

As Eric and Calleigh got in to the ambulance, Frank called a certain someone. He wasn't sure if he should bother him with this shit, but he was the only one who could set Rick straight.

In the ambulance Calleigh was trying not to push. Eric held her hand. She was a bit less then four weeks early.

"Well, she'll probably be fine." The EMT smiled, "There are usually no problems with babies that are born this close to the due date."

Eric sighed in relief. He and Calleigh had no idea what they were having. The EMT told Calleigh not to push. Calleigh squeezed Eric's hand hard.

"I'm not ready." She panted, "I need one more week at least."

"You are ready honey. We both have to be." Eric said softly.

Calleigh nodded and panted as she got another contraction. Eric swore that Rick would have to pay for what he had done. Even though, Eric was extremely mad at Rick, he was also delighted to know that he would soon hold his baby. He would be a father. Yes, a little earlier then expected, but it was still amazing!

**-I-**

Horatio was well aware of all the people watching him as he angrily walked across the parking lot, towards the elevator. The rumour of his cancer had spread fast and now everybody knew. But he wasn't at the lab to talk to the Chief about his cancer, like people thought. He was there to kick Stetler's ass, once and for all. Calleigh was still in labour, and had been for almost thirty minutes. Frank had called Horatio and told him about the situation and what Rick had done. As he entered the elevator he could feel two officers eyes on him. He turned around and glared at them.

"What?" He asked.

He wasn't himself. He didn't have time to be his usual, calm, self. He was going to die for god's sake!

"Sorry Lt." One of the officers said.

Horatio sighed and turned around to face the doors again. As the elevator reached the lab and the doors opened, Horatio walked quickly towards his office. It wasn't Rick's office. It was _his_.

Rick jumped in fear as Horatio pushed the door open and grabbed him by the collar. He pushed him against the wall. Rick rolled his eyes.

"A little too dramatic, don't ya think?" Rick asked.

"Rick. I am seconds away from killing you right now." Horatio growled, "Who the hell do you think you are? Firing my people!"

"They're actually my people now." Rick smirked, "Since you're dying anyway. You shouldn't be working."

Horatio hit Rick across the face and then picked him up from the floor. Rick wiped the blood away from his lip.

"I'm in charge here. I just took a few hours off." Horatio growled, "Now, I am reinstating everyone you fired."

"You can't do that!" Rick growled.

"Yes he can." Said a male voice from the doorway.

Horatio let go of Rick as he looked into the eyes of Chief Henry Mason. Henry sighed and shook his head. He was disappointed in both Rick and Horatio. Rick was an idiot, and truth be told, Henry had been waiting for him to make a mistake. And now he finally had.

But Horatio had surprised him and disappointed him. That he would hit Rick was no surprise, but he had lost control of himself and didn't care who he took it out on. The chief didn't like that.

"Lt. Caine, please take a seat behind_ your_ desk." Henry said, "Rick, the couch please."

Rick and Horatio sat down, while Henry started pacing. He had heard everything from a very reliable source. Frank Tripp. He knew he had some decisions to make and it wasn't hard. He glared at Rick.

"You decided to suspend Boa Vista and then fire her, I guess you're lucky she hasn't found out that you fired her or else you would be in the morgue by now." Henry growled, "And then you fired Alexx Woods and Calleigh Duquesne. Duquesne went into labour! What were you thinking? Telling a pregnant woman that she was fired? She could have lost the baby."

"Sir, I…"

"That much stress is dangerous for someone who is pregnant!" Henry said, "You tried to fire three of the best people here. When I told you that you would be temporary in charge, until I had talked to Caine, I didn't exactly wanted you to fire people and make this your own kingdom!"

"I apologize, sir." Rick sighed.

Henry shook his head and turned to Horatio. He calmed down as he looked into the eyes of the Lt. He could see the pain and the fear. The shock and the sense of being lost, that the Lt. had.

"I want to speak to you alone." Henry sighed, "But, please try not to hit anyone else."

"I won't, sir." Horatio said.

"Good. Rick, you're fired." Henry said, "And everything you've caused in the last 24 hours is being undone. Boa Vista can return to duty and no one is fired."

Rick stood up and gasped. He may have made a few mistakes, but fired? This job was everything to him!

"Sir, I realize that I made a _few_ mistakes…"

"A few?" Horatio asked, "You're crazy Rick! You don't think about rules or how important the people in this lab are, you just think about yourself!"

"And I suppose you think about the people in this lab? You see no one but yourself." Rick growled.

Horatio growled and was about to say something, when the door opened and Frank walked inside. The Chief sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Everybody calm down." Frank said, "Sit down, both of ya!"

"Piss of Tripp!" Rick snapped.

"Srgt. Stetler!" The Chief growled, "I need your badge and gun. Right now!"

Rick muttered incoherent words as he handed his gun and badge to Henry. He gave Horatio a death glare as he left the office. The Chief nodded for Frank to leave the office too. Henry needed to speak with Horatio alone.

"Horatio… is it true?" Henry asked.

"Yes, sir."

"So you have six months left then?"

"Yes." Horatio sighed.

"Well… I don't know what to say, except, I'm sorry." Henry sighed sadly, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, sir." Horatio lied.

He wasn't fine. Not even close to fine. He felt terrible. He needed some guidance. He had never asked for guidance or help before, but now he needed it more than anything. The Chief ran a hand through his hair.

"Well… I guess you have to retire then." Henry said.

"Retire? Sir, I can still work."

"Horatio… You're going to get sicker and sicker every month that passes." Henry said, "I can't let you work for six months. You need to spend some time with your family."

"I don't have any family." Horatio said sadly.

"No one?" The Chief asked.

"Not related by blood anyway. I have the team, but…" Horatio said.

The Chief knew what he meant. It was not a secret that the Lt.'s biggest wish in life was to get married and have children. To find the love of his life.

"Well… spend time with them." Henry sighed.

"Can I at least stay for two months?" Horatio asked.

Henry sighed. Maybe it was the only thing that would keep Horatio sane. Henry had to admit that he was afraid of what Horatio would do if he was alone all day. Not what he would do to anybody else… but, what he would do to himself.

"Okay, two months. That's it." Henry said, "Again, I'm sorry."

"Thank you, sir." Horatio said.

Henry patted him on the shoulder and then left. As he left, Frank entered the office. He walked straight up to Horatio and pulled him in to a big hug. Frank never hugged anyone if he didn't truly believe that someone needed it desperately. Horatio hugged back and almost fell apart in his best friend's arms. As they parted he nodded his thank you to Frank. He looked down at the lab. Everything he had worked for, was being thrown away is just six months. He only had two months left to see the lab everyday, well, almost everyday. Frank squeezed his shoulder as he watched how Horatio seemed to want to memorize every single inch of the lab.

"Is there anything I can do?" Frank asked softly.

"Stop pretending like I'm going to be gone tomorrow." Horatio sighed and looked at Frank, "I'm sorry… I just…"

"I understand." Frank smiled, "Calleigh and Eric had a baby boy ten minutes ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah, his name is Scott Delko." Frank smiled, "And uh… Alexx is here to see you."

Horatio nodded and walked outside the office with Frank. Alexx hugged him tightly. Horatio felt as is everyone were saying goodbye already. He wasn't gone yet! He still had a few months left.

"Don't say goodbye yet." He said, "Don't think I'm gone already."

"I promise." Alexx said and Frank nodded in agreement, "Let's have a cup of coffee."

**-I-**

The team were gathered in Calleigh's hospital room, minus Ryan, who wasn't well enough to come down for a little visit. However, he would be able to leave in a few days. Calleigh handed little Scott over to Horatio. Horatio smiled as he held the little sleeping boy in his arms. Everybody tried not to talk about Horatio's cancer, because they knew it only made him upset. But it was hard to focus on other things, except Scott of course.

"20 inches and 8 pounds." Eric smiled proudly.

"He's beautiful." Horatio smiled and then handed Scott over to Alexx.

Alexx tried not to squeal of joy as she held the little boy. Scott stirred, but didn't wake up.

"Yes he is." Calleigh grinned, "He's charming the nurses to death. And he hasn't made a noise in over three hours."

"Well, he's got his mother's lips and nose." Alexx said.

"His daddy's hair." Frank chuckled and pointed at the little black hair on the head.

"Is it Eric's ears as well?" Natalia asked.

"Seems like it." Alexx smiled, "Well, I'm glad this day got a happy ending."

"Me too." Eric said, "Did Rick really get fired?"

Horatio nodded. He didn't feel sorry for Rick at all. No one did. Rick deserved it and he wouldn't be missed. As Calleigh yawned, they all decided to leave the happy little family alone. Horatio was met by Martin in the hallway. Martin pulled him aside.

"Are you really okay?" Martin asked, "You should start chemo. It will help to make your symptoms less noticeable."

"I'm fine, Dr." Horatio sighed, "I just want go home."

"Chemo?"

"I'll think about it." Horatio said.

He wasn't sure if it was really necessary to spend time on chemo, when he would die in the end anyway. He knew that the symptoms he were having were hard to deal with, but the less he thought about it, the better he felt. He just didn't feel like he had time to think about chemo so soon.

"Okay, call me." Martin said.

Horatio nodded and walked towards the elevator. Alexx and Frank had already left. To go home to their children. Horatio sighed sadly as he wondered what it was like to come home and have a child run towards you for a hug. He wasn't even going to experience that. He was quite shocked as he bumped in to Natalia on the parking lot.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

"Um, yeah."

"Need a lift home?"

"I have the hummer." Horatio said.

He could feel his pulse begin to race. Natalia smiled at him and Horatio melted. He tried to smile back, but his lips just wouldn't move. Natalia could see his attempt and chuckled.

"It will get better." She said, "Um…  
"Do you need a ride home?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah… I came here with Alexx, but I told her to go home, because I wanted to ride home with you." Natalia smiled, hoping she had not just made a complete fool of herself.

Horatio was shocked to hear that Natalia actually wanted to ride with him. He smiled and nodded. They walked towards his car and she got in on the passenger side. The ride towards her home was quiet. Horatio didn't know what to say, he felt ashamed that he only seemed to be able to talk to her when it was about work. Natalia felt the same way about him.

"So um… I just want you to know, that I got your back." Natalia said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm here if you need to talk and well, I want to support you." Natalia smiled.

Horatio nodded. Instantly feeling less happier. To constantly be reminded of his cancer was hard. He still hadn't gotten his head around it. Natalia noticed his reaction and quickly changed the subject.

"It's so great that we got a new addition to our little family." Natalia grinned, "Scott is so cute."

"That he is." Horatio agreed, "When shall I turn?"

"Oh, right. Turn to the right… now." Natalia said.

She didn't want to be home so soon, even though it was late. She wanted to say so many things to her boss. But she didn't have the guts to do it. As Horatio found her house, he stopped the car on the curb outside.

"Well, thanks for the ride." She smiled, "See you tomorrow."

"No problem. See ya." Horatio said.

He watched as Natalia waved goodbye and opened the door, then he left. He cursed at himself, for being such a coward. He could stare down the most dangerous criminals, but he couldn't tell a woman how he felt about her. He was still pissed at himself as he pulled into his driveway and parked the car. He opened his front door and went inside.

_Unaware of the man watching from across the road_.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Horatio was in deep sleep. He had been asleep for almost five hours. Which was good, considering the problems he had had sleeping lately. Rick smirked as he was standing in the bedroom, looking at the Lt. sleeping. He had broken into the house, using the back porch door. It had been very risky, but the redhead hadn't woken up when Rick had broken the glass. While he was standing there, Rick though about how he wanted his revenge. He wasn't sure if he wanted it to be quick or not.

"I need a gun." Rick muttered to himself.

He smirked evilly as he though of Horatio's gun. What a fun thing to do to the Lt! Shoot him with his own gun! Rick left the bedroom in search of the gun. He checked all the desk drawers in Horatio's home office. He sighed angrily as he didn't find it. He looked in the kitchen, living room and even the bathroom, but it was nowhere to be found. There was only one place left to search in. The bedroom. But, Rick had already checked the nightstand and the gun wasn't there. As he entered the bedroom again, he turned on the light. Horatio stirred, but didn't wake up.

"Where are you hiding your gun carrot top?" Rick asked the sleeping man.

Rick carefully searched through the closet and looked inside some boxes on the floor. But it was empty. That's when it hit him! The laundry! Smirking he walked towards the laundry basket in one of the corners of the room. He found the gun immediately. It was still in the holster, attached to Horatio's trousers.

"You must have been so damn tired that you didn't bother to remove the gun." Rick chuckled, "Idiot."

Rick un-holstered the gun and walked towards the redhead. He aimed the gun at his head and smiled as he got ready to shoot. The sound of a car distracted Rick and he froze.

"Horatio?" He heard a female voice call from the door.

He recognized the voice as Natalia's. Rick smirked evilly, wondering what she was doing at her boss's door at two in the morning.

"Horatio, it's me Natalia."

Had they been fighting? Or was Natalia expecting Horatio to be awake? Rick shrugged and got ready to shoot. He wanted Natalia to leave, but wasn't sure if Horatio would wake up before she did.

"Horatio. I'd like to talk to you." Natalia sighed.

Horatio stirred and moaned as he was beginning to wake up. Rick paled and knew he had to do something. He hit Horatio in the head with the gun and then walked towards the doorway of the bedroom. He could see Natalia's silhouette on the other side of the front door as he peeked out in the hallway.

"Horatio? Hello?" Natalia called out louder and knocked on the door.

Rick panicked as he heard Horatio moan from behind him. He rushed back to the bed and kicked Horatio in the head, but it just woke Horatio up more. Horatio stared into the eyes of Rick and was about to yell for help, when Rick's hand covered his mouth. They struggled and Horatio tried to bite Rick's hand. Rick pulled Horatio down on the floor and kicked his ribs. Horatio groaned and knocked Rick's nose with his head.

"Shut the fuck up or I will shoot you _and_ Boa Vista!" Rick growled and managed to aim the gun at Horatio's head.

Horatio stopped moving and looked at the gun. It was his own! He growled and tried to bite Rick's hand again. Rick hit him with the gun across his face and managed to cut Horatio at the eyebrow. Horatio kicked Rick's crotch and managed to get free. He ran towards bedroom door and was just about to close it as Rick ran straight into him. Horatio fell backwards and landed on his living room table, that was made of glass.

"Horatio! What the fuck is going on in there?" Natalia asked, she had heard glass breaking and un-holstered her gun.

"Natalia!" Horatio yelled, "Call for help!"

Rick growled and picked Horatio up by the hair. Horatio was still exhausted and his body wasn't as strong as it used to be. But he still managed to kick Rick's leg and Rick lost his grip on Horatio. Just as he was about to run towards the front door, Rick grabbed his legs and pulled them towards him. Horatio fell down on the floor, hitting his head on the edge of a small drawer. Rick smirked evilly as he noticed that Horatio was almost knocked unconscious.

"Horatio, I'm coming in!" Natalia yelled and finally kicked the door open.

She aimed her gun at Rick and he aimed at her. Carefully she walked towards Rick.

"Rick. This is so wrong." She said, "What the hell have you done?"

"I just showed Horatio who the boss is." Rick smirked, "All of you idiots got me fired!"

"You got yourself fired." Natalia said, "Horatio can you hear me?"

Horatio moaned and coughed. His ribs, eyebrow and head hurt. He knew he was bleeding from at least two different wounds. Rick smirked and backed away from Horatio. He couldn't kill the redhead while Natalia was still there. He had to get rid of her first.

"Goodbye Boa Vista." Rick said, "See you in hell."

"You'll be alone in hell, Rick." Natalia said and got ready to shoot.

Just as Rick was about to pull the trigger, Horatio grabbed his legs and pulled him towards him. Rick tripped and his bullet went up in the roof. Natalia fired as Rick pulled the trigger and fell, and shot Rick in the chest. Rick was lying on the floor, not moving. Natalia holstered her gun and rushed to Horatio's side.

"You got a cut at your eyebrow and another at your left temple." Natalia said, "I should have managed to kick the door in sooner."

"Don't blame yourself." Horatio slurred, "It's not your fault."

Natalia could see that Horatio was loosing consciousness. He was trying to keep his eyes open, but failed. Natalia had called for an ambulance and the police before kicking the door open. They arrived just as Horatio closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

"Whoa! Stetler?" One of the officers asked, "Better call the ME. He's dead."

Natalia sighed in relief. She had never wanted to kill anyone, not even Stetler. But she couldn't help but to feel a bit relieved as she was told that he was dead.

The paramedics put Horatio on a gurney. Natalia followed them to the hospital. And then she sat there, calling the rest of the team and waiting for them to arrive. Ryan was already at the hospital of course, as well as Calleigh and the baby boy.

**-I-**

Cooper was watching the new ballistic expert fire Horatio's weapon, it was procedure. Once she was done with Horatio's gun, she would test Natalia's. The new ballistic expert was a young woman. Her name was Charlize Rush. Charlie for short. Cooper was already in love with her even though he had just met her.

"Do you think anyone would hate me if I bought a cake and celebrated Rick's death?" Cooper asked as he was checking out Charlie's ass.

"Honestly? Yes… It's a bit weird." Charlie said, "Stop looking at my ass!"

Cooper snapped out of his dirty thoughts and looked at Charlie's ponytail instead. She was standing with her back towards him, but she could feel Cooper's eyes all over her.

"Well, nobody will miss him." Cooper shrugged.

"Really? What about his family? Mother? Father?" Charlie asked.

"He didn't have any."

"Well, that's kind of sad, don't ya think?"

"Yeah, a little." Cooper said, "Look, Rick was a pain in the ass and he caused his own death. If he hadn't gone after H, then Natalia would never have had to shoot him."

"I'm not saying that Boa Vista did something wrong. But the guy is dead. You don't have to celebrate it." Charlie snapped.

Cooper winced. He really liked Charlie and apparently she was a tough nut. His sense of humour didn't seem to go well with her. He had to think of some other way to impress her.

"Sorry." Cooper said, "I won't bring it up again."

"Don't you have work to do?" Charlie asked.

"I always have. But the boss is away, so I can play." Cooper smiled, "Feel like playing with me?"

Charlie gave him a weird look and Cooper blushed.  
"That came out totally wrong." He said, "I mean like… d you feel like, doing a prank of Frank?"

"I'm pretty sure that he will kill if you if you do it." Charlie said.

"Nah, Frank would never do that." Cooper said.

Cooper would be proven wrong of course. Frank was not a fun person to be around at four in the morning. He was tired and pissed because his friend had almost been killed by Rick. He tried his best to not snap at Alexx as she finished her autopsy on Rick. Alexx could sense that Frank was pissed. Almost everyone was. The last thing that Horatio needed, was to be at the hospital, almost beaten to death.

"Well, Rick here, died instantly. The bullet went straight through his heart." Alexx said.

"For being such a bad shooter, Natalia actually hit the bulls-eye this time." Frank said, "What else?"

"He had been drinking before he died. Probably to have the courage to attack Horatio."

"Shit." Frank sighed, "IAB will say that Rick was too drunk to fully understand his actions."

"No way." Alexx growled, "He knew exactly what he was doing. The effects of the alcohol had already started to fade by the time he attacked H."

"Good to know." Frank said, "Alright, well. Thanks Alexx."

"Bye Sugar." Alexx sighed and watched the big Texan leave.

Frank felt relieved as he walked through the lab. The case would be closed within hours and nothing would happen to Natalia or Horatio. IAB had nothing they could find in the case that could cause problems for them. Frank got inside the elevator and sighed as he leaned against the elevator wall. Suddenly the elevator stopped between two floors.

"Son of a bitch!" Frank growled and pushed as many buttons as he could.

The elevator started moving again, but this time back to the lab. Frank hit the buttons and cursed at the elevator. It stopped again and this time it was moving down. Just like Frank wanted.

"Thank you." Frank muttered.

He was about to rip his ears off when the elevator stopped again. He kicked at the elevator door and the elevator started moving. Again, back to the lab.

"I want to get to the parking lot!" Frank yelled angrily and pushed all the buttons he could.

The elevator stopped. But when the doors opened, Frank noticed that only the lower half of the elevator was at the lab. The other half, was above it. Frank knelt down and peeked outside.

"Cooper! Help me out!" Frank growled, "The elevator is acting weird."

Cooper smirked and showed Frank his knew water gun. Frank growled. Cooper laughed as he started squirting the water at Frank's face. Frank growled and stood up. Cooper grabed his other "weapon". He threw some soap on the elevator floor and as Frank tried to move away from it, he tripped and fell down on the floor. Cooper was laughing so hard that he could barely stand straight. He walked closer to the door to see if Frank was okay. Frank grabbed Cooper's shirt and tried to pull him inside the elevator.

In the control room, Charlie was laughing at the scene on the cameras. Cooper's lowed body was hanging outside the elevator and Cooper was kicking with his legs, desperately trying to get out. Inside the elevator, Frank was picking hair away from Cooper's eyebrows. One by one. Cooper screamed like a girl and tried to make Frank fall, by hitting his legs.

"Don't move Cooper, this will be over in a minute." Frank smirked.

Cooper remembered his last plan and managed to calm down. He reached down to his pocket and found his homemade pepper-spray. Which wasn't really a pepper-spray. Instead of pepper it was itching powder. Cooper started spraying on Frank's hair and even on his back, inside his shirt. Frank let go of Cooper and he managed to escape.

"Cooper!" Frank yelled as the elevator doors closer and Frank was sent down to the parking lot. He would have his revenge!

**-I-**

Natalia growled as she watched the news. Erica Sykes was reporting about the attack on Horatio. But it wasn't what bothered Natalia the most. It was the fact that someone had told Erica about Horatio's cancer. Erica was telling everyone who watched that Lt. Horatio Caine had cancer and would probably not survive. Natalia was ready to pull the TV away from the wall and beat Erica to death with it.

"There is actually smoke coming out of your ears." Eric teased as he stood behind Natalia.

He hadn't seen the news, so he assumed that Natalia was angry because of what Rick had done. Natalia turned around and glared at him. Eric looked scared and backed away a few steps.

"Have you seen the news?" She asked.

"No."

"Look." Natalia said and nodded at the TV.

She could see Eric going from happy to angry in two seconds as he watched Erica's report. Eric scowled.

"I'm going to kill that woman." He growled.

"Leave that to me." Alexx said from the doorway.

Both Natalia and Eric jumped in fear at her voice and sighed in relief when they saw their beloved mother hen. Alexx growled as she joined them and saw Erica's smile as she talked about lung cancer and how fatal it could be.

"I will find out who told her." Alexx said, "And if it's necessary, I will do it with violence."

Alexx left the room and Natalia felt like running after her, to make sure that Alexx didn't actually kill anyone.

"She will be fine." Erica said and grabbed Natalia's arm.

Natalia nodded. Alexx was in better control than anyone else at the moment and if anyone could force some information out of Erica, it was Alexx. Eric sighed and sat down in a chair. Natalia sat down next to him. It had been over two hours since Horatio had been brought to the hospital and they still hadn't been told anything.

"After all he had been through in the last 24 hours..." Eric sighed, "Rick had no heart when he did this."

"He should have dated Erica. They would have made a perfect couple." Natalia said.

"Nah, they would end up hating each other because one of them would always be more heartless than the other." Eric chuckled, "Seriously though, have you told H that you love him?"

The question caught Natalia off guard and she didn't know what to answer. She shook her head and Eric sighed.

"Just tell him Nat." He said, "Just say, _Horatio I love you_."

"And what if he doesn't love me back?" Natalia asked, "Huh?"

"But he does." Eric smiled, "That man is crazy about you. He is just as shy about it as you. But I think that considering what he's going through right now, you might have to take the first step."

Natalia shook her head. It was so hard. She had spent several hours at home, thinking about her relationship with Horatio. They rarely said anything to each other, unless it was about work. What if they would end up finding out that they had nothing in common?

"We never talk to each other. Only about work." Natalia said.

"That's because you are both afraid to open up your hearts."

"He is older than me." Natalia said.

Eric knew what she was doing. She was trying to come up with excuses so that she wouldn't have to face the fact that she loved him and that she needed to do something about it before it was too late.

"Nat. Don't make excuses. Tell him." Eric said firmly, "If you don't, then I will."

"You will not!"

"I will!" Eric said, "You've got until noon to tell him… or I will."

Natalia was about to protest when Eric shook his head.

"Nat. It's now or never." He said sadly, "He doesn't have much time left. Would you rather spend six months longing for him to hold you then to actually be able to kiss and hold him everyday?"

Eric left Natalia as she thought about what he had said. She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. She was so afraid to date a second Nick. Yet, she knew that Horatio wasn't like Nick. He would never hit her. She wondered what scared Horatio. Natalia jumped in fear as a nurse cleared her throat.

"Are you here for Lt. Caine?" The nurse asked.

"Yes. I'm Natalia Boa Vista."

"Are you family?"

"Well, um… I'm his girlfriend." Natalia lied.

"Well then, please come with me." The nurse smiled.

Her nametag read Lilly. Natalia followed Lilly towards a small room. Lilly stopped outside the door.

"He is quite banged up. He has a concussion and two wounds that were bleeding quite heavily. He has three broken ribs, but he can leave tomorrow if everything stays stable for the rest of the day." Lilly smiled and opened the door.

Natalia took a deep breath before entering the room. She started to cry silently as she looked at her boss and love of her live, as he lay in the bed. He was pale and looked like he was in pain. Natalia sat down in a chair next to the bed and softly held Horatio's hand in hers.

"Hi Horatio." She said, "You're safe at the hospital and can leave tomorrow if you stable."

Horatio moaned and struggled to open his eyes. Natalia smiled and squeezed his hand softly.

"You… saved me… from Rick." Horatio whispered, "Thank you."

"I would do it over and over again if I had to." Natalia grinned and blushed as she thought about what she had said.

"I would too." Horatio said before falling asleep.

Natalia smiled and kissed his lips softly. They seemed to fit perfectly with hers.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please Review! I changed the rating to T, for safety. I'm not sure if my story will be a K+ or T later on. **


	7. Chapter 7

Erica never thought she could fear for her life, but the moment that she saw Alexx, she ran away and tried to hide. Fearing for her life. She knew that messing with the ME was a bad idea and her report had pissed Alexx off. Not only Alexx of course. She would have to stay away from the whole team for a while so she wouldn't end up having a serious argument with one of them. Eric was now cornered and Alexx was approaching.

"Ms. Sykes you better tell me who your source is or I will book a table for you in my morgue." Alexx growled and grabbed Erica by the collar.

"You know I can't do that." Erica said.

"The last thing that Horatio Caine needs is the media bothering him about cancer." Alexx said, "He's had a rough time lately and you all need to leave him alone, most of all you."

Alexx let go off Erica and waited for an answer. Erica sighed.

"Okay, okay!" She snapped, "It's Paula Stevenson."

Alexx paled. She knew exactly where she could find Paula and she had trusted Paula. Everybody had. Paula was loved by everyone.

"This was the first good decision you've ever made." Alexx said and left.

She called Frank on her way back to the lab. Frank got furious when he found out who the snitch was. As they arrived at the lab they walked to the receptionist.

"Paula, we need to talk." Frank said.

Paula smiled and nodded. Not suspecting what the conversation would be about. Alexx was ready to yell at Paula in front of everyone in the lab, but she wasn't that evil. As soon as they reached the morgue, Alexx picked up a scalpel. Frank sighed.

"Alexx, easy." He said, "Paula, we know you told Erica Sykes about Horatio's cancer."

"I only told her that it was a rumour." Paula said, she paled as Alexx approached her with the scalpel.

Paula backed away and Frank stood between the two women. The anger burned in Alexx's eyes. Her oldest boy was sick and injured and the last thing he needed was to be hanged out in the media. Paula was in tears now, she obviously regretted what she had done, but it was too late for it. The news had spread like fire in Miami.

"Do you realize the kind of danger you're putting him in?" Alexx asked, "Not only will this make him stressed, it will also give his enemies the chance to go after him. Now that he is much more vulnerable."

"Not to mention that once they find out about his cancer, they might get back in business. Horatio is their biggest threat." Frank said, "With him gone…"

He didn't need to say the rest. Not only did everybody know that a few gangs were just waiting for him to die so they could start selling guns and drugs again. However, knowing that Horatio would die was painful to think about.

"I didn't think it would be this big." Paula sobbed.

"He is Horatio Caine!" Alexx snapped, "What did you think would happen when Erica told everyone that Lt. Caine, the man who never backs down and has brought down many dangerous criminals and gangs with his team, had cancer? Did you think everyone would just ignore it?"

"No… I just, I don't know." Paula sighed, "Please tell the Lt. that I'm sorry."

"He doesn't know yet. But he will." Frank said, "I think you ought to look for another job."

"I haven't broken any laws!" Paula said.

"It doesn't matter. Once this comes out you won't want to be here anyway." Alexx said.

"You're going to tell people?" Paula asked.

"They will figure it out on their own." Frank sighed, "Now leave! And keep your mouth shut."

Paula nodded and ran away from the morgue. She was crying as she sat down by her desk again. Alexx put her scalpel away and sighed. Frank hugged her and they both managed to calm down.

"We need to be strong for each other and especially Horatio now. He needs us." Alexx said.

"And we need him." Frank sighed sadly, "But you're right. Right now, he needs us."

**-I-**

Horatio moaned as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up in bed. Strong hands pushed him down. He looked up in the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Natalia smiled at him.

"Nice to see you awake." She said, "If you behave and heal you can leave tomorrow. That is in… a bit more than twelve hours."

"That's almost forever. Almost." Horatio joked and chuckled.

He felt better knowing that Natalia was with him. And their kiss. He had felt her lips against his just as sleep had claimed him. He had remembered how perfect it had been. His body had been filled with warmth and the wanted to kiss her again.

"Hungry?" Natalia asked.

"Not for food."

Natalia chuckled and knew what he meant. She bent down and kissed him softly. He deepened the kiss and ran a hand through her hair. Natalia wanted to scream of joy! She was kissing the man of her dreams. She moaned and caressed his cheek softly.

"Whoa!" A male voice exclaimed behind them.

Eric had opened the door and seen them kiss. He covered his eyes and pretended to be disgusted.¨

"Get a room!" Eric joked.

"Eric. Your son will be telling you and Cal to get a room as he gets older and sees you kiss each other." Natalia laughed.

Eric grinned, "Well, at least you finally admitted your feelings to each other. I'll leave you two love birds alone. Don't do anything that will make too much noise."

Eric's laughter was heard through the hallway as he walked back to Calleigh's room. Natalia shook her head and looked down into her boss and now boyfriend's blue eyes.

"Can you be quiet while having… ya know?" Horatio teased.

"Horatio, whatever-your-middle-name-is, Caine!" Natalia gasped, "Are you suggesting that you and I?"

"I don't have a middle name." Horatio smiled, "Yes… well, what's wrong with making out?"

"Making you? I thought…"

"Oh you mean _that_!" Horatio chuckled, "Well, I would love to when I feel better."

Natalia burst out laughing and laid her head down on Horatio's chest carefully. He smiled and caressed her cheek. It seemed as if talking to Natalia was easier now that they knew how they felt. Being with her was so much fun and it relaxed him.

"Horatio this might be too soon but… I love you." Natalia said and lifted her head up.

Horatio didn't know what to say at first. He had been hurt so many times and wasn't sure if he was ready to love someone as deeply as he loved Natalia, he wanted to explore it first. He did love her, but he was afraid that if he said those words, everything would be ruined.

"You don't have to say it." Natalia smiled lightly, "I understand."

"I do feel the same… I'm afraid that if I say it then it will be ruined." Horatio sighed, "But I do fell the same about you."

"You love me?"

"Yes." Horatio blushed, "I… I l-love you."

There the words were out. Horatio wouldn't be surprised if their relationship fell apart within a month or two. It had done that before with other women. However, Natalia was not like other women. Natalia smiled widely and gave him another kiss.

**-I-**

Frank muttered incoherent words as he scratched his head and back. The itching powder that Cooper had sprayed on him was driving him nuts. Frank only had one hour to have his revenge before Cooper went home and Frank didn't want to wait 'til the next day. Frank also had to include Charlie in the prank because she had helped Cooper with his prank. Frank looked up a few pranks on the internet and found the perfect one, it would mean that both Cooper and Charlie had to go home first and go to sleep though.

Once Frank's shift was over he went to a supermarket and bought the only thing he needed for his prank. Then he went to the hospital to visit his friends, it would give Cooper and Charlie time to get home and eventually fall asleep. Frank grinned and thought about his prank as he entered Calleigh's hospital room. She had just finished feeding Scott.

"What are you planning Frank?" Calleigh asked quietly.

Eric was sleeping in the chair next to her bed. The poor guy had had difficulty falling asleep because of Erica's news report and because he watched over his son all the time. He loved spending hours just watching Scott.

"What?" Frank asked.

"I know that look and you have planned something."

"Well, my revenge on Cooper and Charlie." Frank smiled.

Calleigh had heard about Cooper and Charlie's prank on Frank and she had been waiting for Frank to finally figure out how to have his revenge. Calleigh smiled and handed Scott over to Frank, who gladly held the little guy.

"Hi there Scott." Frank grinned, "Don't you think uncle Frank deserves to have revenge?"

"I think he shook his head." Calleigh teased.

"Nope, he nodded."

"Frank tell me something and I want the truth." Calleigh said, getting serious, "Is Paula the snitch?"

Frank sighed. Apparently Paula's tears had awoken some serious rumours and as expected it wasn't hard for the lab techs to figure out that it was connected to Erica's report and Alexx and Frank's interrogation of her in the morgue.

"Yes, it's true." Frank said, "Apparently she didn't think it would be such a big thing."

Calleigh shook her head. She had trusted Paula. Paula was her friend and she had liked her very much. More importantly, Horatio had liked and trusted her and she had betrayed him.

"Have you talked to H about it?" Eric asked, waking up.

"Alexx did it two hours ago. He took it quite well, I think he has enough to do and doesn't want to bother thinking about Paula's betrayal." Frank said, "Not to mention that Natalia can make him happy and think about other things."

"Yeah finally." Calleigh chuckled.

Scott started whimpering and apparently decided that Frank wasn't fun to be with anymore. Frank tried to calm him down, but it only caused Scott to cry. He chuckled and gave him back to Calleigh.

"As he gets older he will love me. I will spoil him so much." Frank smirked.

"I think Eric will be the favourite." Calleigh smiled, "He will always spoil Scott more than you."

Frank shrugged. He spoiled most of the kids he knew. His own children, Alexx's children and his sister's children. He liked it and he didn't do it to be loved by them. He did it because it was fun.

"Well, I better get going. I have to pay a visit to Horatio before I leave." Frank said.

Calleigh and Eric said goodbye and watched Frank leave. Frank was happy that Horatio would be able to leave the following day, but as he approached his room he could feel tears stinging his eyes. He took a deep breath and then opened the door. He was happy to see that Horatio was asleep, because he was sure that Horatio would see the pain and sadness in his eyes if he were awake. Natalia was barely awake in the chair next to the bed. She was holding the red head's hand.

"Hey there love birds." Frank smiled, "How is he doing?"

"Better." Natalia smiled.

"And you?"

"I'm doing great."

"Good to hear." Frank said, "Well, I won't stay long because I can see that you're tired, but um… why don't you take the day off tomorrow and spend time with Horatio?"

"Well, I would love to, but I have to speak to the head of the crime lab." Natalia smiled.

Frank looked confused and then chuckled.

"Horatio would probably give you the day off. He's going to need it himself." Frank chuckled, "You almost tricked me there."

"Yeah, almost." Natalia nodded, "Will the rest of ya work on the case?"

"Well, we're not getting anywhere so we might have to drop it." Frank sighed, "But new cases keep coming in everyday."

Natalia nodded and then hugged Frank goodbye.

Frank took a long drive through Miami, waiting for a few more hours to pass. By ten he parked his car outside Charlie's house. He sneaked towards her car and opened a bag of birdseed and poured it on the roof and hood of her car. In the morning there would be hundreds of birds covering Charlie's car and they would leave "gifts" for her as well. Frank then drove to Cooper's house and did the same. Once he got home, Frank fell asleep with an evil smirk.

At seven thirty in the morning Cooper was about to leave his house and screamed as he looked at his car. There were all sorts of different birds on it!

"No!" Cooper growled and ran towards the car.

He started to chase the birds away the best he could. As the birds left they decided to be mean and leave "gifts" on Cooper as well and not only the car. Cooper thought he was about to cry as he looked at his ruined clothes and he almost fainted when he looked at his car. He called Frank.

"This was so low!" Cooper whined, "I hate you."

"Well Cooper, the first rule of revenge is to always make it worse than the prank on you!" Frank chuckled and hung up.

Cooper stomped on the ground angrily and went inside to shower and change clothes. He would have to call a cab and take the car to the carwash after work. As he exited the shower, his phone rang. It was Charlie.

"This is your fault Cooper." Charlie said as soon as Cooper answered the phone.

"Hey! You helped me with the prank on Frank."

"But it was your idea." Charlie sighed, she was too calm and it scared Cooper.

"Well… um, we could have revenge." Cooper suggested.

"Your on your own now. I want my own revenge and I'm going to have it on the both of ya."

"Me?" Cooper asked, "But Charlie…"

"I'm doing it because it's fun Coopy." Charlie smiled; apparently Coopy was Cooper's new nickname.

Charlie hung up the phone. Cooper wanted to cry again, but he pulled himself together. Frank was going to regret his revenge. Cooper was going to make sure of that.

**-I-**

Since Horatio's house hadn't been cleaned up yet, he had to stay with Natalia. But he didn't mind. When Natalia opened the door Horatio noticed how cozy everything felt like. He loved it. He could easily spend a few days at Natalia's home. She blushed as she looked at his eyes scanning the entire house as they passed room after room. It wasn't a very big house. Smaller then Horatio's actually. She didn't have a spare room, but didn't think that Horatio would mind sleeping in the same bed as her. She wouldn't mind anyway. In fact she looked forward to it.

"I like it." Horatio smiled as they entered the living room and sat down in the couch, "It's cozy and fits you perfectly."

"Thank you."

"So, any plans for the day?" Horatio asked.

Natalia chuckled and took his hands in hers. She led him to her bedroom and smiled.

"Well, you, me and a bed." She grinned, "The doctor ordered you to relax that is what we are going to do."

Horatio chuckled and sat down in her bed.

"What are we going to do in bed?" Horatio asked.

"Relax and snuggle." Natalia said.

They were not ready to go any further. She knew and he knew it. But they wanted to be close to each other. And they were both tired. Horatio nodded and removed his trousers and shirt. He blushed as he sitting on the edge of the bed in only underwear and a white t-shirt.

"Won't it be warm to sleep in the t-shirt?" Natalia asked.

Horatio looked down on the floor, his smile vanishing and shook his head. Natalia knelt down in front of him and squeezed his hands softly.

"Horatio… do you have scars?" She asked.

"A few." Horatio sighed, "Most people have been disgusted by it. My back isn't covered in it, but I do have a few scars. My… father made sure not to leave too many scars."

Natalia hugged Horatio and kissed his cheek. She had suspected for a long time that he had been abused as a child. The whole team suspected it. Now she knew, but she wouldn't tell anyone.

"It's okay. I won't think it's disgusting." Natalia smiled.

Horatio nodded and removed his t-shirt. Natalia saw his back and cursed mentally at his father. She hugged him and they laid down in bed. Horatio looked at her and chuckled.

"Aren't you supposed to remove some clothes as well?" He asked.

Natalia chuckled and removed some of her clothes. Then she snuggled in Horatio's embrace and they quickly fell asleep.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I don't know why, but I haven't been able to respond to your reviews like I usually do. ****So I'll do it here. _Thanks very much for your reviews! _**

**-I-**

Two months had passed. Horatio only had three days left to work and he was quite nervous about it. He wasn't sure what to do when he retired. Except spending time with Natalia of course, when she wasn't working. Calleigh would be taking over after him, but since she was still on maternity leave with little Scott, Eric would be temporary in charge. Horatio and Natalia were living together in Horatio's beach house. Even though Horatio was happy to finally be together with Natalia, he was sad that their time was short.

"Whoa!" Frank exclaimed as he opened Horatio's office door, "Ryan get a camera! We have to photograph H."

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"He is actually working with paperwork!" Frank smirked.

Horatio rolled his eyes as Ryan ran away to find a camera. It was rare for Horatio to work with paperwork, especially for several days straight. Frank chuckled as he sat down on the couch in the office. Ryan entered the office with a camera and snapped a photo of Horatio.

"You do know that I work with paperwork sometimes, right?" Horatio asked.

"Sometimes." Frank grinned, "But not for two days straight."

"Well, I don't want Eric to have to take care of this when I leave on Friday." Horatio shrugged.

"H, if I were you I would leave as much for work Eric as possible." Ryan smiled.

"Well, that's because you two love to mess with each other." Frank said, "Horatio would never do that to you boys. He only messes with me."

"Anyway, what brings you here?" Horatio asked.

"We got a hit from the fingerprints off the murder weapon in the "Conan-Case"."

Derek Conan's wife and oldest daughter had been shot to death in their home two months earlier, while the youngest daughter Haley, had been left alive. Unfortunately, the team hadn't been able to prove that Derek Conan had murdered his wife or that he was selling automatic guns to criminals.

"We only had two different set of fingerprints on the murder weapon, right?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah, Conan's and now this guy." Ryan said.

Horatio nodded and followed Ryan and Frank to the interrogation room. Inside, was a nervous man. He had been arrested while breaking into a house and while his fingerprints had been put in the system it had popped up as a match in the murder case. Frank and Horatio entered the room.

"Mr. Robert O'Hara." Horatio said, "I've been told that you were arrested for burglary two hours ago."

"Yeah. I have no idea what I'm doing here. I confessed to the burglary." Robert said nervously, "I'll take my punishment."

"Don't you think you have something else to confess too?" Horatio asked.

Robert shook his head and Horatio chuckled.

"Then you're wrong." He said, "We matched your fingerprints to a murder weapon used two months ago. When two people named Cassie and Melinda were murdered."

"Fingerprints?" Robert asked, playing dumb.

"It puts the murder weapon in your hands." Frank said, "You better start talking."

"Mr. Conan let me use his gun for practice." Robert said.

"And who told you that Mr. Conan owned gun?" Horatio asked, "I only said Melinda and Cassie."

Robert sighed and ran his hands over his face.

"Okay, okay. Derek Conan gave me fifty thousand to shoot his wife and daughter." Robert said.

"Why?" Frank asked.

"Because I was the best shooter he could find." Robert said.

"No, _why_ did he want them dead?" Horatio asked.

"Oh, because his oldest daughter wasn't his. Her birth father was someone else. And he wanted to revenge his wife and take what she loved the most. Her daughter." Robert shrugged.

"And you had no problem murdering two innocent people for fifty grand?" Frank asked.

"I needed the money to pay of a loan!"

"Well, I hope it was worth it. Because where you're going you don't have to worry about loans every again." Horatio said and left.

**-I-**

Natalia was nervous. She was waiting for her doctor to enter the room. Natalia hadn't been feeling well for a long time. She had done a test at home, but needed it to be confirmed. The door opened and her doctor smiled as she sat down on a chair next to the bed.

"Well, Natalia, let's confirm your test." Dr. Megan Hayden smiled.

She put some gel over Natalia's stomach and started the ultra sound. Megan smiled and Natalia just knew at that instant. She knew she was pregnant!

"Well, it seems as if you are about 7 weeks pregnant." Megan grinned, "And…"

7 weeks! That was almost two months. She must have gotten pregnant when she and Horatio had forgot protection on a night two months earlier.

"And it seems as you have two babies." Megan smiled, "Twins."

"Twins?!" Natalia exclaimed and thought she must have heard wrong.

Megan grinned, "I would like you to come back in a month."

Natalia just nodded. It was if she was dreaming. She didn't know how to feel. She wanted kids and so did Horatio. But… The pregnancy had not been planned and she wasn't sure how Horatio would react. They hadn't discussed kids. Because Horatio didn't believe he had the time to make her pregnant. That there was no point. But Natalia had seen in his eyes that he really wanted kids.

She just had to find the perfect time to tell him. Whenever that would be. As she drove back to the lab, she couldn't keep her thoughts off her pregnancy. _Twins!_ She had _two_ babies in her. She was going to start showing soon. She had never imagined herself as pregnant. She had always thought that it was a dream that would never come true. But now it had!

"Nat?" Alexx asked.

Natalia had no idea that she had parked the car outside the lab and been sitting in the car for ten minutes, just staring at the windshield.

"Natalia?" Alexx asked again and waved a hand in front of her eyes.

Natalia snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Alexx. Alexx smiled and opened the door. Natalia stepped out and just looked at Alexx.

"I'm pregnant with twins." She chuckled and wiped a few tears away.

Alexx gaped at her.

"What?"

"Twins." Natalia laughed, "I'm 7 weeks pregnant with twins."

Alexx did the math quickly and smiled, "7 weeks, did it by any chance happen on that stormy evening that we had a barbeque at my place?"

Natalia blushed. Alexx had seen the lusty look in both Horatio and Natalia's eyes that night. When they had got home, well, they hadn't got much sleep that night.

"Yeah, we forgot protection. It wasn't planned." Natalia said, "Oh my god, what is Horatio going to say."

"Honey, I think he will be happy."

"He's dying. He said he didn't think there was any point in trying to get me pregnant. Because he wouldn't be there to see it anyway and well, he didn't want to leave me alone with a kid." Natalia said and wiped a few more tears away.

"Well honey, he might have said that. But he still want kids." Alexx grinned, "You should go and tell him right now."

Natalia nodded and took the elevator to the lab. She tried to get her tears under control, but it was hard. She sighed in relief as the elevator doors opened and she didn't feel any more tears falling. She smiled at Eric as she passed him and walked straight to Horatio's office.

"Horatio?" She asked as she opened the door.

"Natalia sweetheart, hi." Horatio grinned widely, "Have you been crying?"

"No… well, yes."

Natalia sat down in his lap and hugged him. Horatio looked confused at her.

"Horatio, I have to tell you something." She said.

Horatio started to fear the worst. She was going to leave him. After two months she had realized that dating a guy that was dying wasn't as good as she had hoped.

"Are you going to leave?" Horatio asked.

"What? Horatio no. I love you too much." Natalia smiled and gave him a kiss.

Horatio sighed in relief. He chuckled and nodded for her to tell him what she wanted to say.

"Well, I'm..." Natalia was interrupted by the phone and she sighed.

"Tell me." Horatio said.

"No, take the call. It could be about the case." Natalia smiled.

Horatio nodded and answered his phone. Just as Natalia had suspected, it was about the case. Derek Conan had been arrested. After he hung up, he looked sadly at Natalia.

"I'm sorry, Derek Conan was arrested ten minutes ago." Horatio sighed, "I have to interrogate him."

"Of course Horatio. Put that monster behind bars." Natalia smiled, "We'll talk later."

Horatio nodded and gave her a kiss before leaving. Natalia stayed in his office and rested on the couch.

**-I-**

Cooper shook his head and looked at Ryan.

"Come on! How many times do we get the chance to pull a prank on Eric, when he's sleeping?" Ryan asked, "It's now or never!"

Cooper sighed. Ryan wanted to play with Eric, while he was asleep in the break room. Two months old Scott was keeping him and Calleigh awake at home during the nights, so Eric got very little sleep.

"Okay." Cooper sighed.

Ryan smirked evilly and showed Cooper what he had bought for the prank. Cooper's eyes widened. Eric would be so pissed! They entered the break room and carefully approached Eric, who was sleeping on the couch. He was lying on his stomach, which was perfect for Ryan. He put a four eggs on Eric's back. Hopefully Eric would turn around and squash the eggs. His shirt would get messy as well as the couch.

Then Ryan and Cooper grabbed Eric's shoes on the floor and put glue on the inside of the shoes. Eric's wouldn't be able to take his shoes off, without sacrificing his socks! The last prank was a bucket of melted butter that was placed on top of the door. Cooper prayed that no one else would enter the break room and become the victim of the bucket.

Once they were done, Ryan and Cooper went back to work.

In one of the interrogations room, Frank and Horatio were interviewing Derek Conan.

"Well, well, well, I guess if you wait long enough you get exactly what you want." Frank smirked.

Derek rolled his eyes. He didn't expect to be sent to jail.

"Mr. Conan, we found Robert O'Hara, the man who shot your wife and daughter." Horatio said.

"Good! Now they can rest in peace." Derek smiled.

"Well, he has agreed to testify against you in court." Horatio said, "You paid him fifty grand to kill your wife and daughter, because your wife had cheated on you and gotten pregnant."

"I was angry to find out about that yes. But I didn't want them to die." Derek said, "Robert is a liar."

"Actually he still had some money left that you gave him. We found your fingerprint on it." Horatio smirked.

"So?"

"So, it proves that he has told us the truth. You paid him fifty thousand." Frank said.

"The same day that your wife and daughter were murdered, Robert received fifty thousand from a man named Narek Dencon. If you switch the letters you get Derek Conan." Horatio said, "So, is Robert still a liar?"

"That's it?" Derek asked.

"Fingerprint, bank account and a witness." Horatio said, "I say that's pretty good."

Frank smiled, "Not to mention that we have a warrant to look through your phone records, bank records, everything you've ever done."

"Why?" Derek asked.

"To find the people you're selling guns too." Horatio said, "It's over Derek."

Derek was about to say something, but Frank read him his rights and cuffed him. Derek glared at Horatio.

"This isn't over Lt." He growled.

"It is for you." Horatio sighed and left.

He needed some coffee and went to the break room. As soon as he opened the door he was covered in melted butter and just froze. He growled and lifted the bucket of his head. He spotted Ryan and Cooper hiding in the AV-lab. They winced as Horatio glared at them.

"Ryan!" Horatio growled aloud and walked towards the lab.

In the mean time, Eric woke up. He didn't turn over, but as he sat up, the eggs fell off him.

"What the?" Eric asked and picked the unharmed eggs up, "Ryan!"

He stood up, put his shoes on and walked to the AV-lab. He grinned as Ryan and Cooper were recieving a lecture from Horatio about not torturing your team mates at work.

"And what is this anyway?" He asked and pointed at his ruined suit.

"Melted butter." Cooper said, "It was meant for Eric."

Horatio sighed angrily, "Don't do it again."

He left to take a shower, while Eric promised Ryan and Cooper to have revenge. In the showers, Horatio sighed as he looked at his ruined suit. Once he was done he walked to his locker and bumped in to Natalia.

"Ops, sorry." He chuckled and kissed her softly.

"Horatio, we are not going to have sex in the locker room." Natalia smiled.

"I know. I'm just giving you a taste about what to expect for tonight." Horatio winked and got dressed.

"What was it you wanted to tell me earlier?" He asked.

"Oh, that. Um, can I tell you tonight?"

"Of course sweetheart." Horatio smiled and kissed Natalia again.

**-I-**

Eric frowned as he got home and couldn't get his shoes off. He was tired and the last thing he needed was to have trouble with his shoes. Calleigh tried not to laugh as Eric whined and muttered when the shoes seemed to be stuck. Ryan had called her earlier during the day and told her what he had done to Eric's shoes.

"Calleigh." Eric whined, "Why is it not working?"

"Maybe your feet has grown." Calleigh suggested, "They look bigger."

"What?" Eric asked and looked down at his feet.

He couldn't see a difference and tried to pull his shoes off again.

"You ears look bigger too." Calleigh joked.

Eric looked at her confused and then walked to the bathroom and took a look in the mirror.

"They do?" He asked.

"Oh yes." Calleigh chuckled, "Much bigger."

"Calleigh…" Eric smirked, "Are you teasing me?"

Calleigh chuckled and shook her head. Eric chased her around the house and kissed her deeply as he caught her. Then Scott demanded attention and food.

"We're coming!" Calleigh called and went to Scott's crib.

She picked up her son and kissed his cheek. Eric grinned and then remembered the problem about his shoes again.

"What should I do?" He asked and looked down at his shoes.

"Ryan put glue in your shoes. You'll have to sacrifice your socks to get them off your feet." Calleigh laughed, "Have fun."

Eric growled as he removed his socks and shoes on the same time. Ryan and Cooper would never see the revenge coming. And Ryan was going to get the worst off it. That was for damn sure.

**-I-**

Horatio embraced Natalia from behind as she cooked dinner. She smiled and leaned into his strong arms. Horatio ran his hand up her legs and caressed her hips.

"Horatio, we have to eat." She smiled.

"I feel like doing something else." Horatio smirked and kissed her neck.

In the mean time. Two young guys broke into the cellar of the house and waited for Horatio and Natalia to fall asleep. They would have to wait for a while though.

"Horatio, I have something to tell you." Natalia said.

Horatio grinned and sat down by the kitchen table. He waited for her to start speaking. Natalia thought she heard someone in the cellar and looked towards the cellar door.

"Did you hear something?" She asked.

"Nope, did you?" Horatio asked.

"I thought I did. Oh well, here it goes." Natalia sighed, "Um, promise you won't get mad."

"I can never get mad at you."

"I'm pregnant Horatio."

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Horatio stared at Natalia in shock. He had never expected to receive the news of her being pregnant. Natalia nervously waited for Horatio to say something. Horatio blinked and looked down on the floor. Natalia thought he hade made up his mind and left the kitchen. Horatio was speechless and he managed to get himself together just as Natalia opened the front door to leave. He grabbed her arm.

"Natalia, how far along are you?" He asked.

"7 weeks." Natalia sobbed.

"Alexx's barbeque." Horatio said, "Well, um…"

"Horatio, if you don't want the babies. I understand."

"Babies?" Horatio asked, "Twins?"

"Um, yeah." Natalia sighed, "I know you talked about not really wanting kids because you wouldn't be there anyway, but…"

Horatio kissed Natalia hard and closed the door behind her. He did wanted children. More than anything. But he also felt sad because he wouldn't be there to raise them with Natalia. He wouldn't get to see them at all.

"It's mixed feelings you know." Horatio said and gave her a small smile, "But I want kids."

Natalia grinned widely and hugged Horatio. Horatio then thought of something.

"Wait here." He said and disappeared to the bedroom. He came back with something behind his back and Natalia quickly understood what is was. When Horatio went down on one knee, she gasped and started crying.

"Natalia, will you marry me?" Horatio smiled widely.

Natalia's answer was to throw herself into his arms and kiss him deeply. As they parted she looked down at the ring in a small box. Horatio put the ring on her finger.

"It was my grandmother's old wedding ring. She said I should have it and then give it to the woman of my dreams." Horatio smiled, "So I take the kiss was a yes?"

"Of course it was a yes." Natalia grinned and smelled something burning, "Oh, damn, the food."

"We can order something. Or better yet, let me take you out for dinner." Horatio grinned.

Natalia nodded.

"Do I need to where something fancy?" She asked.

"No. You always look beautiful." Horatio smiled and took her arm in his.

They left and went to a small restaurant in down town Miami. While they were away, the boys in the cellar decided to check out the house. They're names were George and Gordon. They were young boys at 17 and didn't have a criminal record, although this wasn't the first time they had broken the law.

"Check this out." George said and picked up the gun that Natalia had left behind on the night stand, "Cool gun. Think you can use it?"

"No. But we came here to take the girl and hurt the man." Gordon said, "So, we could hit the man on his head and then beat the girl up and take her."

"Dude, these are adult people. Both cops. We're going to need something better than that." George said, "I say we shoot the man, maybe in the leg or something and then force the woman to come with us, or we'll shoot them both."

"One of them is a Dt." Gordon said and picked up Natalia's badge, "Can you see another badge?"

"No."

"Nathan only said, that they were cops and were they lived." Gordon sighed, "That isn't much information."

"He also said that with them gone, he or whoever hired him, will have his revenge."

"So, I say we shoot them both. With a sniper gun. My mom said my uncle was a sniper in the army." Gordon smiled, "I bet he was a cool man."

"How did he die anyway?" George asked.

"Mom said he disappeared."

"Whatever dude." George sighed, "Maybe we could like make some noise when they sleep and ambush them?"

"Yeah like, you wait in the kitchen and I wait in the living room. They won't be able to escape." Gordon said, "Good idea."

**-I-**

It was quite late at night when Natalia and Horatio finally got home. They were tired and happy as they laid down in bed. They snuggled close to each other and fell asleep fairly quickly.

It wasn't long after that, that Natalia woke up when she heard someone move chairs in the kitchen.

"I have to be dreaming." She sighed and laid down again.

Then she heard a chair drop to the floor and sat up in bed. She wasn't dreaming anymore. The sound had woke Horatio up too.

"Let's check it out." He said and grabbed his gun from the nightstand.

When Natalia was about to grab hers, she noticed that it was missing. Her badge was also gone.

"Horatio, my gun and badge are gone." She whispered.

"Stay close to me." Horatio said and opened the bedroom door.

He aimed his gun in front of him as he walked to the kitchen.

"Surprise!" Someone yelled from behind them and Horatio and Natalia turned around.

Gordon was standing before them, Natalia's gun aimed at Natalia herself. Then George stepped out from the kitchen with a knife in hand. He smirked evilly.

"Put down your gun or I'll shoot your lady." Gordon said.

Horatio chuckled and before George could react, Horatio had grabbed his knife and placed his gun against his head. George swallowed hard and looked at Gordon. Gordon was shocked to see that his friend was the red head's hostage. Natalia stood still as Gordon still had the gun aimed at her.

"Let him go." Gordon said.

"If you put down the gun." Horatio said," Trust me, I got nothing to loose from shooting your friend."

Horatio glared at Gordon and Gordon looked between Natalia, George and Horatio. He nodded and put the gun on the floor. He kicked it towards Natalia, who picked it up and aimed it at Gordon.

Horatio relaxed his grip on the gun and pushed George and Gordon towards the couch in the living room.

"Did Derek send you boys?" Horatio asked.

The boys shrugged, "Sort of."

"To do what?" Natalia asked.

"Kidnap you and hurt him." Gordon said, "He said he would pay us ten thousand for it."

"How old are you?" Natalia asked.

"17." George sighed, "We're sorry."

"Sorry ain't going to cut it." Horatio sighed, "Do you realize the kind of danger you put yourself in?"

The boys nodded and jumped as the front door was kicked down. Horatio and Natalia aimed their guns at the door. George saw his chance and jumped up on Horatio's back. Horatio struggled with George and Natalia tried to help as well as keeping an eye on Gordon. Everyone froze as a big man entered the house. He was wearing a hooded jacket, so his face couldn't bee seen.

"I should have known you boys couldn't handle this without me." He growled and with one quick motion he hit Natalia across the face, knocking her out.

Gordon kicked Horatio in the stomach and together with George they grabbed his gun and forced him down on the floor. The big man grabbed a chair from the kitchen and hit Horatio in the head with it.

As Horatio lay on the floor, unconscious, the big man picked up Natalia and carried her to a big white van outside. The boys followed him and sat down in the back of the van, keeping an eye on Natalia.

**-I-**

Alexx sighed and shook her head as she started her day with watching Eric and Ryan, trying to pick themselves off the floor. The boys were lying on the floor in the locker room, with Christmas lights and ribbons around them and soap on the floor. Eric was covered in sot as well.

"What happened boys?" Alexx asked.

"We both came in here early to prepare our pranks on each other." Eric said, "Ryan had put a bucket of sot over my locker and when I opened the door it all fell down on me."

"That's when I became the victim of Eric's prank, I tripped on the soap on the floor that was just outside the janitor's closet."

"What were you doing inside the janitor's closet?" Alexx asked.

"Picking out Christmas lights and ribbons to tie around Eric's legs." Ryan whined, "I tripped on the soap and got tangled up in the ribbons and the lights and when Eric tried to help me out. He too tripped on the soap."

"I fell on top of Ryan." Eric sighed, "Help us out Alexx?"

Alexx sighed and shrugged. She grabbed Ryan's hand to pull him, but when she did this, she also tripped on the soap and fell down on top of the boys. She growled and stood up. Instead she started pulling the ribbons and lights off the boys. After fifteen minutes, they boys were loose and they stood up from the floor.

"Clean it up." Alexx said, "And please behave for the rest of the day."

"We can't make any promises." Eric smirked evilly.

"Boys." Alexx sighed and shook her head as she left.

Eric grabbed a mop from the janitor's closet and gave it to Ryan.

"Hey, I'm not doing this alone." Ryan said.

"Goodbye Ryan." Eric chuckled and walked away.

Ryan growled and threw the mop at Eric's legs. Eric stopped walking and glared as he turned around to face Ryan. He picked up the mop and gave it to Ryan. Ryan sighed and grabbed Eric's legs. Then he dragged Eric around in the soap.

"Look, I found a bigger mop than the one you gave me." Ryan laughed.

Eric struggled to get loose and managed to pull Ryan down on the floor as he stood up.

"Now you can use yourself as a mop." Eric smirked evilly.

The door to the locker room opened and a concerned Frank entered.

"Stop playing around guys." He said, "Something has happened to Horatio. He's at Dade Memorial."

Eric and Ryan stood up and ignored their dirty clothes as they followed Frank to the parking lot. There they met Alexx who was waiting for them. They drove to the hospital and there they had to wait for a doctor to tell them about Horatio's condition.

"One of his neighbours found him one hour ago." Frank sighed, "And called an ambulance. He's been unconscious the whole time. That's all the nurse would tell me."

"Where is Natalia?" Alexx asked.

"That's the second problem we have. She's missing. There is evidence of a disturbance at their house, but she's gone." Frank said, "This has to have something to do with Derek Conan."

"Didn't he say to Horatio that this wasn't over?" Ryan asked.

"Yes. He did." Frank sighed and rubbed his tired eyes, "He's behind this. We just have to prove it."

"And let me guess. So far, we can't?" Alexx asked.

"Exactly. You boys need to get over to his house and process." Frank said.

"After we hear something about H." Eric said.

"Eric, the longer time we spend here without processing, the further away we get to finding whoever did this." Frank snapped, "You know this."

"He's my friend. You can't just expect me to leave!" Eric growled.

"Yes I do! I don't like this either. But we have to find Natalia." Frank said.

"Boys! Eric, Frank is right. You and Ryan process the house. I will call you when I hear something. Frank, you should talk to Derek Conan." Alexx said firmly.

The boys nodded and left her alone in the hospital. When Eric and Ryan arrived at Horatio and Natalia's beach house they grabbed their kits and ducked under the crime scene tape. There was a lot of disturbance in the kitchen and living room.

"I take the kitchen, you take the living room." Eric sighed.

Ryan went to the living room and immediately noticed the blood on the floor. Horatio could have been shot or hit his head. The blood could also belong to Natalia. The living room table had been moved and several photo frames had fallen of shelves. There was evidence of someone being thrown against the walls too.

"There was a struggle in here." Ryan called to Eric.

"It looks like someone was looking for something in here." Eric said.

Several kitchen cabinets had been opened and kitchen utensils had been thrown on the floor. The chairs had been moved and one of the chairs was in the living room. Eric printed the kitchen and found several prints. However, most of them would be from Horatio and Natalia.

In the living room, Ryan processed for prints and also found blood and red hair on the chair. He didn't need to check for DNA to know that Horatio had been hit with the chair.

"I hope H scratched his attacked." Ryan said, "I found prints. But some DNA could be good to have."

"Same here. Prints, but no DNA." Eric sighed and walked to the living room, "Whoa."

"I know. A lot of blood." Ryan said, "Maybe it's from both Natalia and H."

"Well, let's hope Valera can find out." Eric said and swabbed the blood.

**-I-**

"Derek, you disappoint me." Frank said, "You send someone to attack Lt. Caine and Dt. Boa Vista. Just hours after your own arrest."

"You can't prove that." Derek said.

"Not yet. But you told Caine that this wasn't over. That sounds a little bit like a threat to me." Frank said.

"So charge me for threatening a police officer." Derek sighed, "This is a waste of time."

"Dt. Boa Vista is missing. And I know you had something to do with it." Frank growled, "You better tell me what you know or I will make you wish you had never been born."

"That sounds like a threat to me." Derek smirked, "Tell me, did the Lt. suffer during the attack?"

Frank grabbed Derek by the collar and pushed him against the wall. The guard in the room, made no attempt to stop Frank. Derek glanced at the guard.

"He can't do this." Derek said, "Make him stop!"

"There are a lot of things you can't do in this world. But that didn't stop you from ordering a hit on your wife and daughter and selling guns." Frank growled, "Guard, could you please bring me Mr. Conan's visitors log?"

"Sure." The guard said and left the room.

Frank smirked evilly and let go of Derek. Derek fell down on the floor and twisted his ankle.

"Shit man! That's police brutality." Derek growled.

"Do you know that all the guards in this prison is on a break right now. This is not being recorded so I can do whatever I want and you won't be able to prove it. How does it feel to know that whatever happens in here will only be your word against mine?" Frank smirked as he grabbed Derek and pushed him down on his chair.

Frank then cuffed him to the chair and Derek paled.

"It will take a few more minutes before the guard comes back with your visitor's log." Frank said, "So, during that time you can chose to either talk to me and leave unharmed or not talk and leave with a handful on injuries."

Derek's eyes widened and he looked scared at Frank. Frank smirked and waited for an answer. Then he approached Derek to hit him.

"Wait!" Derek shouted, "Alright, alright!"

"Good boy." Frank grinned, "Well?"

"A guy that worked for me attacked the Lt. and his girl." Derek sighed, "His name is Harry Pearl."

"Harry Pearl." Frank sighed.

The door opened and the guard gave Frank the visitor's log. Frank read it and chuckled. He threw the book down on the table and pointed at Derek's visits within just 24 hours.

"No Harry Pearl has come here." Frank said, "Harry Pearl is a man I arrested myself, _seven_ years ago. He hung himself in jail _four_ years ago. However, this man who calls himself Winston Churchill has visited you three times in just 24 hours. The last time was five hours ago. Who is he?"

When Derek didn't answer, Frank hit him in the face. He broke Derek's nose and Derek hissed in pain.

"What the fuck!"

"Sit still Conan!" The guard said and grabbed Derek's shoulders.

The guard knew that Frank wouldn't go too far. But playing nice with Derek wouldn't help. He had to be tough with him.

"Tell me what I need to know before I break you neck." Frank growled.

"His name is Nathan Vermont." Derek sighed, "He used to work for me. It told him to find the Lt. and his girl and kidnap the girl and hurt the Lt."

"Why?" Frank asked.

"I wanted the Lt. to never see his girl, like the way I will never see my daughter Hayley again."

"Derek, it's your own fault that you will never see your daughter again. Not Lt. Caine's fault." Frank growled, "Where can I find Nathan Vermont?"

"He hangs out at some clubs in downtown Miami." Derek said, "Before today, I hadn't seen him in over ten years."

"And what did he tell you when he came by five hours ago?" Frank asked.

"That the job was done. That's it. I swear." Derek sighed.

Frank smirked evilly, "Thank you Derek."

Frank uncuffed him and then left. The guard led Derek to the prison nurse and then back to his cell.

"He can't be allowed to beat me like he did." Derek said to the guard.

"He didn't do anything. You had a fight with the other inmates." The guard smirked and left.

Frank drove to the PD to see what he could find on Nathan Vermont. He called Eric and updated on what Derek had said. When Frank arrived at the PD, everybody wanted to know how the case was going.

"Alright, alright." Frank snapped when he couldn't take all the questions anymore, "You can help by finding Nathan Vermont. I'm going to see if I can find him on the computer. But check the clubs in the downtown area."

All the cops nodded and quickly left. Nathan Vermont wouldn't be able to hide for long.

**-I-**

Alexx sighed in relief as she was allowed to see Horatio. The nurse opened the door to his room and let Alexx inside. Horatio was laying in bed. Tired but fine. He had a concussion had taken quite a nasty hit to the head.

"He has a gash on the back of his head where he was hit. We want to keep him here for 24 hours for observation." The nurse said and then left.

Alexx hugged Horatio. Horatio closed his eyes and groaned in pain. His whole head hurt. He had been lying on his living room floor for several hours before being found, so his back hurt too.

"I am not staying here for 24 hours." He said.

"Horatio. You heard the nurse. If you go off chasing criminals right now, you could end collapsing. Which would result in spending even more time in the hospital." Alexx said.

Horatio sat up and groaned. He couldn't stay in bed when Natalia was missing. His fiancé was gone and he had to find her.

"Alexx, Natalia is pregnant with twins and last night I asked her to marry me." Horatio said and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, "I am not going to just lay here when my fiancé is missing with two teenagers and a big man."

"There were three attackers?" Alexx asked.

"Yes." Horatio said and told Alexx the whole story.

From the moment that he and Natalia had woken up because of the noise, until the moment he had lot consciousness. Alexx was shocked to hear that two teenagers were involved. She had to call Frank and tell him.

"Horatio, I have to call Frank. I'm going to be right outside and you better stay in bed." Alexx said and left the room.

Horatio could hear her talking outside his room. There was no way he was going to be able to leave. Just as Alexx hung up the phone, an old nurse friend saw her and they had a friendly chat. Horatio walked to the door and saw that Alexx was busy. He smirked and tried to sneak out the door.

"Horatio Caine, get back in your room!" Alexx said, without turning around.

She knew he was trying to sneak out. Horatio growled and went back to the room. Alexx finished talking to her friend and went back to Horatio's room.

"Horatio, please understand that you're not well enough to leave." Alexx sighed.

"Alexx. I have to leave." Horatio said, "I am not so hurt that I can't at least stay in the lab to know what is going on."

Alexx sighed. She knew that if she kept an eye on him, he could at least be in the lab. But she also knew that he would get too involved and run off and put himself in danger again.

"I have to talk to your doctor about it." She said, "Wait here please."

"Okay, I can wait." Horatio said, "Thanks Alexx."

Horatio climbed out of bed as soon as Alexx had left the room. He peeked out the door and when he couldn't see anybody around he sneaked down the hallway towards the elevator.

**-I-**

"Shit man. Nathan has been arrested." George said as he watched the news on the TV.

Nathan had been arrested in his home. George and Gordon glanced at each other and then at Natalia. Natalia was now awake. She couldn't figure out where she was. She only knew that she heard airplanes fly over the house all the time. The boys turned off the TV.

"What did Nathan tell us to do if he was arrested?" Gordon asked.

"Shoot the hostage." George sighed and aimed a rifle at Natalia.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I don't have many chapter****s left on this story. And even though a lot of you would like for Horatio to survive, that won't be the case. There won't be a miracle. I know a lot of people probably won't like me because I choose to let Horatio die, even when he's becoming a father, but the reason I chose to write this story was because of the unthinkable, Horatio's death. Trust me, Horatio is my favourite character on the show and it hurts to do this to him, but that's what the story is about. His death. How he deals with it and how everyone else deals with something they never thought would happen. **

**-I-**

"Dude, we can't kill someone." Gordon said.

"Nathan told us to." George sighed.

Natalia could see that George hesitated. Not sure if he really wanted to throw his whole life away by killing a cop. George avoided eye contact with Natalia and his hand shook slightly as he aimed the rifle at her. Gordon suddenly grabbed the rifle and pulled it from George's hands.

"George, we're not going that far." Gordon said, "Why don't we just leave her here?"

George growled and hit his fist against the wall. He started bleeding slightly and cursed at himself. He was so confused. He wanted to be a criminal and make a lot of money, yet he knew his parents would be so disappointed in him. Natalia noticed that both boys were close to tears and probably regretting themselves. However, someone besides Nathan had to be keeping an eye on them. Because they couldn't let her go.

"Who besides Nathan is watching you?" Natalia asked.

"Nathan's gang of course." Gordon sighed, "Two of them are in jail. If we end up in jail they will… kill us."

"But we'll be going to juvenile detention, you moron!" George growled, "If we don't manage to escape or something."

"Boys. This has already gone to far. You will be charged with kidnapping and assault on a police officer. Those are bad crimes." Natalia said.

"Which is exactly why Nathan wanted us to kill you!" George snapped and then shook his head.

His heart stopped him from actually taking Natalia's life. Yet he had asked for this kind of life. Constantly on the run, the action and fooling the cops. Gordon sighed and sat down on a chair. George's hand was bleeding more.

"Shit, it hurts." He sighed.

"Go home. Before your parents starts worrying dude." Gordon said, "I'll keep an eye on her."

George shrugged and left. His parents were good people, but he knew that his life wasn't meant to be as a spoiled rich kid, which high education and a wife. His life was to be in the middle of all the action and have power. His parents were already calling him on his cell as he went home. Gordon had grown up with his mother and she didn't care about him. He could be wherever he wanted and stay away from home how long he wanted.

"Can I please get some food or water?" Natalia asked, "I need it desperately."

"Why?" Gordon asked.

Nathan had told them not to feed the hostage.

"Gordon, I'm pregnant. I need food. My babies needs food." Natalia said.

"Um, okay." Gordon sighed, "I see if I can find something."

Gordon left and Natalia could hear him looking for something in cabinets in a room next to the one she was in. She sighed and prayed that the team would find her soon.

**-I-**

Nathan Vermont was sitting on a chair in an interrogation room. Frank was interviewing him and he wasn't playing nice either. He pulled Nathan's head backwards by holding his ponytail and glared at him. Nathan hissed in pain.

"Let me go man!" He said, "It fucking hurts!"

"It's going to hurt a lot more if you don't tell me what I want to hear." Frank said calmly, "Now, where is Dt. Boa Vista?"

"I don't know man! I just helped to kidnap her alright. I fixed it all and then left her with…"

"Yes?"

Frank smirked and let off Nathan. Rebecca Nevins was watching through the two-way mirror. In case Frank had to make a deal with Nathan.

"Alright man. I want a deal." Nathan said.

Both Frank and Rebecca sighed, even though they couldn't hear each other. Frank looked towards the two-way mirror and nodded for Rebecca to join him. Soon she was sitting across the table from Nathan, ready to make a deal.

"You tell us everything and I can make sure you won't spend more than 15 years in jail." Rebecca said.

"That's still too much." Nathan grinned.

"Listen you asshole, with all that you've done, 15 years is a short time. The real sentence should be at least 30-35 years in jail." Frank said, "So how is it going to be?"

"I have a little gang. We're about 8 people in it. Only two guys who aren't legal adults. Of course I had to chose them to do this job. They were supposed to kidnap the Lt. and his girl. They ran in to some trouble so I had to help. He knocked the Lt. down and well, I drove the Dt. And the boys to my place." Nathan said, "The boys then took my second car and drove to a place only they know where it is. Apparently one of them had an uncle who used to target practice there or something."

"What are there names?" Rebecca asked.

"I only know one of them. Gordon Jeffries. He knew the other boy, and introduced him to me. I made him a part of the gang and well, the rest you know."

"How can you not know his name? He is a part of your gang." Frank growled.

"I don't care what his name is!" Nathan snapped.

"What kind of car did they use?" Frank asked.

"A BMW, black. No license plate." Nathan said, "Easier to escape from the cops without one."

While Rebecca made a deal in writing with Nathan, Frank went to the lab to talk to Eric and Ryan.

**-I-**

Eric almost choked the his coffee he was drinking as he saw his boss walking towards him. Horatio's eyes showed Eric how angry he was. Eric put the cup of coffee away and looked at Horatio as he entered the lab.

"I know I should be at the hospital, but my fiancé is missing and I'm not about to rest when she is gone." Horatio said firmly and Eric shrugged.

He knew there was no way for him to get Horatio back to the hospital. No one would be able to. Not even Alexx.

"What have you got?" Horatio asked.

"Something extremely interesting." Eric said.

Before Eric could say more, Ryan, Frank and Alexx entered the lab. While Frank and Ryan were surprised to see Horatio, Alexx was not. She glared at him and he glared right back.

"Alexx, I need to be here." Horatio said firmly.

"You need to relax honey." Alexx said with a soft voice.

Horatio sighed and shook his head. He could relax later. After all, he only had two days left to work before he retired. Alexx sighed and agreed that Horatio could work with the case, but she would be with him every single step that he took.

"I found a shoeprint in your cellar H." Eric smiled, "And the trace in the print is from Coral Quarry mixed with jet fuel."

Horatio and Frank immediately recognized it. Eric nodded, he knew what they were thinking. Ryan looked like confused at them.

"Christopher Harwood." Horatio said, "He was target practicing at a coral quarry next to an airport."

"The sniper?" Alexx asked.

"Excuse me, what?" Ryan asked.

"Many years ago, there was a former marine-sniper who went crazy and shot four people. He target practiced at a coral quarry, like H said." Frank said, "And the kidnappers are at the same place."

"Let's go people! No time to waste." Horatio said.

**-I-**

Gordon was getting hungry. He hadn't found any food for Natalia. Natalia was also getting tired. Gordon was sitting on a chair, waiting for George to come back. He hummed sometimes and glanced at Natalia. Suddenly the door burst open and SWAT ran inside. Gordon immediately lay down on the ground.

"Natalia!" Horatio exclaimed as he saw Natalia on the floor.

He untied her and hugged her hard. Natalia kissed him and Horatio helped her up on her feet. As they walked out of the small cabin, Gordon was arrested. He was scared and begged SWAT not to shoot him.

"How did you find me?" Natalia asked.

"An old case. A sniper named Christopher Harwood used to target practice at this very place. It's the only coral quarry close to an airport. Eric found trace of it in our cellar." Horatio smiled, "You're safe now. How are you feeling?"

"Tired and hungry." Natalia smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too." Horatio grinned and kissed her softly.

As Gordon was led out, Eric and Ryan started processing the small cabin. They immediately noticed a few blood drops on the ground and on the wall. Also shoeprints that they could match to the prints Horatio's cellar and of course fingerprints. An ambulance was waiting for Natalia and the paramedics took both her and Horatio to the hospital. Once there, they were separated and Horatio was led back to his room.

Alexx soon joined him and sat down on a chair next to him.

"Happy to be back?" She asked and then changed her ming, "Of course you're not."

"Not really." Horatio chuckled, "I don't like hospitals. Not when I'm a patient."

"I know. But sometimes you have to follow the doctor's orders." Alexx said, "Natalia will probably join you in here soon. I told them to give you two the same room. That doesn't mean the two of you can do anything more than cuddle with each other."

"Alexx!" Horatio chuckled, "We would never do such a thing."

"Uhuh?" Alexx smiled, "Well Horatio, seems like everything is fine again."

"Not really. I would really like to know why the boys did what they did." Horatio sighed.

"Horatio, don't think about the case anymore. Just relax."

"Relax and do nothing?" Horatio asked.

"Too difficult for you?"

"No, no. I can do nothing. I won't like it. But I can do it." Horatio smirked.

Alexx chuckled and shook her head. She knew Horatio wouldn't be able to relax for more than twenty minutes at the most.

**-I-**

"Gordon Jeffries." Frank sighed, "17 years old and already you have quite an impressive rap sheet."

Gordon said nothing. Frank scared him.

"Kidnapping and assault. You will be spending a long time behind bars, you do realize that don't you?"

"Yes, sir." Gordon said quietly.

"Good. Why did you kidnap Natalia Boa Vista?"

"Nathan wanted me to."

"And how come you decided to become a criminal?"

"I belonged somewhere." Gordon said.

His whole life he had never belonged anywhere except in Nathan's gang. He had been bullied until he had joined the gang. Put there was a price to pay to remain there. He had to do things he wasn't proud of. However, he was willing to pay that price. Up until now. He now wished he could have done something different.

"And what does your parents think about this?" Frank asked.

"I don't know my father. My mother doesn't care about me." Gordon said.

"And you uncle?" Frank asked.

Something very interesting had come up when Gordon's blood had been tested against the blood from the cabin. Instead of matching that blood, his DNA had matched someone else. However, the blood from the cabin also matched someone very interesting.

"My uncle was a marine and a good man. My mom said he died in a car crash." Gordon sighed, "He loved the quarry, that's how I knew about it."

"Your uncle was put to death two years ago." Frank said, "And he was _not_ a good man."

"Don't say things you don't know!" Gordon growled.

Frank sighed and showed Gordon a picture taken of Christopher Harwood in jail.

"Who is that?" Gordon asked.

"That is Christopher Harwood. A marine sniper that shot four people to death several years ago." Frank said, "Your DNA was a match to his. He was your uncle."

"You're lying!" Gordon snapped.

Frank shook his head. Gordon yelled at him and started crying. Frank did nothing to stop Gordon from exploding with emotions as Gordon slowly realized the truth.

"My mom lied to me!" Gordon sobbed, "Oh my god!"

"Where is your partner?" Frank asked.

"At home with his parents." Gordon said, "His name is George Trent. A guy I met six months ago. He wanted to join the gang for the action."

"Where does he live?" Frank asked.

Gordon shook his head. It took Frank thirty minutes to finally get Gordon to tell him where George was. As soon as he knew, Frank called Gordon's mother and told her what had happene, he also told SWAT to pick George Trent up at his parent's house.

**-I-**

It was Eric and Ryan's turn to interrogate. George Trent was slumped down on a chair and looked as if he had no idea why he had been arrested. His parent's were with him. Eric had put a picture of Derek Conan on the table.

"Who is that guy?" George asked.

"That is the man who hired Nathan Vermont." Eric said, "He is also your father."

"Funny. My father is this man to my right in case you haven't noticed." George snapped.

"George! Behave." His father, Lionel said.

George's mother, Rita, was pale and nervous. Ryan and Eric noticed this. They smirked and showed George another piece of paper. The DNA results from the blood on the cabin. It matched Derek Conan.

"Like father like son." Ryan said, "You're both criminals."

"Fuck you!" George growled, "That man is not my father."

George had expected his parents to agree with him, but when he realized that they were both quiet he looked at them.

"Mom?" George asked, "Why aren't you talking?"

"George. We adopted you when you were three weeks old." Rita sighed.

"Srgt. Tripp has already talked to Derek Conan. He had no idea you existed and we don't know who your birth mother is. But your DNA matches Mr. Conan." Ryan said.

George looked more closely at the picture and noticed the resemblance. They had the same eyes, smile and nose. George gasped and looked at both his parents. Suddenly he wrapped his hands around his father's neck. Eric and Ryan tried to pull them apart.

"You lied to me!" George yelled, "You said you were my father!"

When George and Lionel were finally pulled apart, Ryan held on to George as he tried to get lose.

"You're our son George. We love you." Rita cried.

"I hate you! Why didn't you tell me the truth?" George yelled.

"Just because you share DNA with that man, doesn't make you his son. Rita and I have raised you. We love you. _We_ are your parents George." Lionel said.

"I hate both of you!" George growled.

Ryan and an officer led George away to a holding cell. Rita was crying and Lionel tried to comfort her.

"Did you know what he had done? He had joined a gang and kidnapped an officer." Eric said.

"We had no idea." Lionel said, "We thought he hung out with his friends. Gordon for example."

"He will be charged with kidnapping and assault on a police officer." Eric sighed, "I'm sorry to say that he will spend a long time in jail."

Rita and Lionel didn't know what to say. They nodded and watched as Eric left. It wasn't easy to put a kid in jail. Even a kid who had done so much wrong and deserved to be in jail. George's yelling could be heard through the hallways and all the way to the elevator. Eric sighed and got inside the elevator. Case closed. Now he wanted to see his two friends.

**-I-**

Both Natalia and Horatio were fine. Both of them had a concussion, but would be able to leave the following day. Natalia was sitting in front of Horatio in his bed as he team was gathered around them. They didn't talk about the case. Instead they had a small celebration to their friend's pregnancy and engagement.

"We're thinking about having a small wedding in our backyard." Natalia smiled widely, "Alexx, will you be my bride's maid?"

"Of course honey. It would be an honour." Alexx grinned.

"Eric do you know what to do as my best man?" Horatio asked.

"Hold the ring, make an embarrassing speech and drive you two love birds to the airport so you can go on a honeymoon quickly and have lots of sex?" Eric asked.

"Don't give me pictures like that in my mind!" Ryan groaned.

"It's not my fault that you think dirty." Eric said, "Seriously though H. I would love to be your best man."

"Good." Horatio chuckled, "So Calleigh, how is little Scott?"

Scott was sleeping in Calleigh's arms. Calleigh grinned and looked down at her son.

"He's doing fine. Sleeping a lot." Calleigh smiled.

"That will change." Frank said, "Believe me."

"I have to agree." Alexx chuckled at Eric's terrified look, "Don't worry. It will be fun."

Eric sighed in relief and smiled.

"The wedding will be in one month." Natalia smiled.

"When did you have time to plan all of this?" Frank asked.

"When were in here, relaxing. Waiting for you guys." Horatio said, "By the way, I have a new personal record. I managed to relax completely for forty minutes."

"Halleluiah!" Frank laughed, "It's a miracle! But it must have been hard for you?"

"Extremely." Horatio sighed, "I did it though."

"I don't get it." Ryan said.

"Come on Wolfe, have you ever seen H completely relaxed for more than a minute or two?" Eric asked.

"No."

"Exactly. H needs to learn to be lazy. I do it all the time." Eric smiled.

"That's because you need to learn how not to be lazy." Ryan smirked.

Eric playfully smacked Ryan on the shoulder. Alexx rolled her eyes at the boys. The team stayed for a few more minutes. Once Horatio and Natalia were alone, they decided to sleep in the same bed. Even though the bed was very small.

"Goodnight sweetheart." Horatio smiled.

"Goodnight, sweet dreams." Natalia said, "Sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite."

Horatio chuckled and kissed her softly before falling asleep with Natalia in his arms.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

The that day Horatio and Natalia had waited for had finally arrived. It was their wedding day. A month had passed and now it was less than an hour left until Natalia and Horatio would stand in front of a priest named Michael to get married. Horatio was in the kitchen in his and Natalia's house. Since the whole wedding ceremony was taking place in their backyard, with the team there, some of the lab techs and Natalia's sisters. Horatio was nervous and pacing, he constantly looked at the big watch on the kitchen wall and took several deep breaths. Eric was sitting by the kitchen table, watching his boss and friend as he tried to remain calm. When Ryan appeared in the doorway he looked confused at Eric.

"Enjoy the free entertainment of this day. Tough boss becomes a nervous wreck." Eric smirked.

Horatio stopped pacing and looked at Eric.

"Nervous wreck?" He asked, "It's not_ that_ bad."

"You're getting there." Eric teased, "Seriously H, what are you worried about?"

"That she'll run or say no. Change her mind." Horatio sighed.

"She won't. Right now there's a bigger risk that you'll pass out." Ryan smiled, "Natalia is as calm as can be."

"She's calm?" Eric asked.

Ryan gave him a look and Eric nodded. Horatio was too busy pacing again to notice them. The truth was that Natalia was just as nervous as Horatio. She was in the bedroom, getting her dress on. Alexx and Calleigh were with her. Ryan was checking up on everyone and had already seen Natalia pace around in the bedroom.

"H, calm down. Take a deep breath and sit down." Ryan smiled and lead Horatio to a chair by the table.

"You boys should take the time to enjoy this, because I will never be like this again." Horatio said.

"Yeah, I just wish there was some popcorn here." Eric grinned, "I have a speech written by the way."

Horatio sighed and rested his head in his hands. He looked down at the table.

"You're going to embarrass me, aren't ya?" He asked.

"Just a tiny bit." Eric joked, "It's the best man rules. If you're the best man, you have to hold a speech and it has to be embarrassing."

"You just made that up now." Ryan snorted, "It was the worst rule ever!"

"Wolfie, my rules are not bad." Eric said.

Horatio watched as Eric and Ryan started debating about best man rules, making the rules up as time went by. When it seemed as if Eric was about to lose, Horatio started chuckling. Eric and Ryan stopped talking and just looked at their boss as if he had lost his mind, Horatio burst out laughing so hard that tears ran from his eyes.

"You guys are funny when you argue." He laughed, "Please keep on going."

Eric and Ryan chuckled and shook their heads.

In the bedroom, Natalia had just managed to get the dress on and she was now sitting on the bed, while Alexx fixed her hair.

"Girl, calm down. That man out there loves you way too much to run away." Alexx said, "Chill!"

"Alexx, I'm sure I will pass out in front of everyone. Or worse, throw up." Natalia sighed.

"How could throwing up be worse?" Calleigh asked.

"It smells and the clothes get ruined." Natalia said, "My mom did that when she married by dad. It's probably inheritable."

Alexx and Calleigh chuckled and shook their heads. Natalia giggled and sighed heavily. She was nervous, yet extremely happy. She was finally marrying the man of her dreams. She gently touched her belly. She wasn't showing yet, but she would soon.

"You have the ring?" Natalia asked for the forth time during the day.

"Yes, Natalia, I still have it." Alexx smiled, "I'm more worried about Eric losing the ring."

"Urgh, please don't say that." Natalia groaned.

"He actually misplace a lot of things in our home." Calleigh said, "Usually small things, such as a ring."

"Calleigh, could you please make sure that Eric still has the ring?" Natalia asked.

Calleigh chuckled and nodded. She left the room for less than a minute and came back with a smile.

"He still has it. Horatio is so nervous." Calleigh grinned, "I've never seen his nervous before."

"Oh good, so I'm not the only one." Natalia sighed in relief.

**-I-**

The priest was talking. Natalia and Horatio were smiling widely as they looked into each other's eyes. The fact that Natalia and Horatio would have only three months together didn't really matter. Nobody thought about it. Today was all about their wedding. What would come tomorrow and further in the future, remained to be seen.

"Natalia, it is time." Michael smiled.

Natalia grinned and turned around to Alexx. Alexx was crying of joy as she gave the ring to Natalia. She took Horatio's hand in hers and said the vow, that she and Horatio had agreed to use.

"Today, Horatio, I join my life to yours, not merely as your wife, but as your friend, your lover, and your confidant. Let me be the shoulder you lean on, the rock on which you rest, the companion of your life. With you I will walk my path from this day forward." Natalia smiled widely as she put the ring on Horatio's finger.

Alexx and Natalia's sister Anya, broke out it loud sobs and wiped their tears away.

"Sorry." Alexx mumbled.

Everyone giggled. Michael then nodded for Horatio, now it was his turn. He turned to Eric for the ring. And everyone got worried, as Eric searched through all of his pockets. Horatio glared at him.

"Eric." Horatio said.

"I got it H… somewhere." Eric sighed.

Eric grinned widely as he did a little magic trick and made the ring appear from behind Horatio's ear. Everyone chuckled and Horatio smiled and shook his head. Eric gave the ring to Horatio.

"Today, Natalia, I join my life to yours, not merely as your husband, but as your friend, your lover, and your confidant. Let me be the shoulder you lean on, the rock on which you rest, the companion of your life. With you I will walk my path from this day forward." Horatio smiled and put the ring on Natalia's finger.

Then he pulled her in to his arms for a deep kiss and everyone applauded.

"Well, I guess I don't have to say it." Michael chuckled, "I now pronounce you husband and wife, and you can kiss her as many times as you like now."

Horatio and Natalia parted and looked out at the guests. They were finally married.

Thirty minutes later, it was time to cut the cake. Horatio stood next to Natalia and they held the knife together.

"First one who drops their piece of cake has to go and swim in the ocean… naked." Eric smirked.

"Well, start getting ready for that then Eric." Horatio joked.

Everyone laughed. Horatio and Natalia then cut the cake and gave themselves as large piece of cake. They shared another kiss and when everyone had some cake, they sat down to eat and talk. Eric finished his piece of cake quickly and stood up to make a speech.

"Oh god." Natalia chuckled, "Eric be nice."

"I am always nice." Eric smiled, "You all know why were are here today. To witness one of the most romantic and love-filled weddings ever. Natalia and Horatio, have waited a long time to tell each other how they feel. But they finally did, and here they are. As husband and wife."

The guests nodded in agreement.

"Horatio, Natalia, you show us what true love is all about. It shows in your eyes and your smiles when you see each other, I don't know if you have any other ways to show each other and I'm not planning on finding out either." Eric chuckled, "Before I finish my speech, I just want to wish you both many happy days to come and especially now that you're going on your honeymoon. But you skipped the honeymoon baby part though. Not that it's a bad thing."

Everyone were laughing as Eric continued joking and as Horatio and Natalia's faces just kept getting redder and redder.

"Okay, enough with the jokes. I'm glad to be here today to see you two getting married, and I know that you will spend many happy days together." Eric smiled.

Everyone applauded and Horatio and Natalia gave Eric a hug.

**-I-**

Natalia woke up and groaned as she heard someone knocking on the front door. She reached out a hand and came in to contact with Horatio's cheek. He was still asleep. She gently shook him and then climbed out of bed. She put on a robe as she walked towards the front door.

"What do you want?" She asked when she opened the door.

"Good morning sunshine." Eric grinned, "Have you guys forgot about your flight to Athens, it leaves in exactly one hour and thirty minutes."

Natalia gasped and ran back to the bedroom. Eric walked in and closed the door. He waited for Horatio and Natalia in the kitchen, and soon both of them came running out of the bedroom and towards bathroom to fresh up and then get dressed in more casual clothes.

"You guys must have had too much fun last night ang forgot to set the alarm." Eric said and looked at the time, "It's 11:30 you know."

"We're finished!" Natalia said as she and Horatio grabbed their bags and walked out the door.

"When did you have time to pack?" Eric asked.

"Two nights ago." Horatio shrugged, "Did you bring coffee?"

Eric grinned and gave both Natalia and Horatio a coffee cup. He drove them to the airport. After they had gotten their tickets it was time to say goodbye.

"Thanks for everything Eric." Natalia said and hugged him.

"No problem." Eric grinned, "Take a lot of pictures. I want to see what Athens looks like when you guys get home."

"We promise." Horatio smiled and hugged Eric goodbye.

Only one hour later, Horatio and Natalia sat on the plane as it was about to lift.

"I love you Mrs. Caine." Horatio whispered in Natalia's ear.

"I love you too Mr. Caine." Natalia grinned and gave him a soft kiss.

**-I-**

Eric had been called in to work and when he left the crime scene several hours later, he exited the elevator at the lab and tripped on the wet floor and landed on his butt. Everybody winced as Eric groaned in pain when he tried to stand up.

"I might have broken something." Eric sighed, "Alright, who did this?"

Eric looked around the CSIs and lab techs, but everyone avoided eye contact. Eric then looked down at the floor, and the pool of water he had tripped in was so small that it was barely noticeable. As Ryan approached him, Eric glared at him.

"This is not how you treat your boss, ya know." Eric said as he and Ryan walked towards the break room.

"Well, you're only _temporary_ boss. Calleigh is the _real_ boss." Ryan smirked.

"She's on maternity leave." Eric said, "And as supervisor I get to do all the good stuff. And force _you_ to do stuff that I don't want to do."

Ryan opened the break room door and Eric gaped at the scene in front of him. There were probably forty people in the break room, waiting to be interviewed by the supervisor of the lab, for a job at the lab that had opened up as Horatio had left and the team had become on less person.

"You are also given the curse of interviewing people for a job." Ryan smirked, "Have fun!"

Ryan quickly left and Eric groaned. Spending hours in the office, just talking to person after person was incredibly boring. Eric sighed and told everyone to form a line and he would start interviewing them, one after the other.

**-I-**

In Athens, Horatio and Natalia had just arrived to their hotel. It was a good hotel by the ocean. Horatio unlocked the door to the room and walked inside. Natalia gasped and what she saw. There was a large bed, a large TV. As she walked around the room, she saw a huge bathtub and two chairs that could give you massage. The fridge was packed with good stuff and everything just looked beautiful.

"What should we do first?" Horatio asked.

He and Natalia had two weeks to explore Athens. Natalia grinned and laid down on the bed.

"Well, we could always try out this bed." She smiled.

Horatio chuckled and soon, they were in bed, making love. They wouldn't get to see much of Athens during their honeymoon.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

Five and a half months had passed. And it was getting harder not to think about the end for Horatio. He looked weaker. He felt weaker and he was getting quite depressed, thinking about the end. He rarely had enough energy to do much more than eating and spending some time with Natalia. He always worried about her and the babies. He always felt that he neglected her somehow. Because he slept very much and he felt as if he had no strength left in his body. He had started noticing his downfall three weeks earlier. And it made him sad to think about how everything had turned from good to bad and to worse. The only thing that kept him on a good mood was his family.

Today was Horatio's birthday. He was becoming 50 years old. 50. He sighed as he thought about his age. He was getting older, yet he was too young to die. He was sitting on a chair on the back porch. It was still early in the morning. Natalia was still asleep, but Horatio couldn't sleep right now. He knew that his team, his family, would come over and celebrate him. However, he didn't want a big party. He wouldn't have the energy for it.

"What are you thinking about?" Natalia asked sleepily, as she joined her husband on the porch.

She sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. She already knew what he was thinking about, but he still hadn't talked to her about it. Natalia looked down at their rings. They hadn't been married long and she would soon face the life of a single mother and a widow.

"Everything." Horatio said quietly.

He thought about his entire life. The choices he had made. His mistakes. He thought about the people that he had met. Speed, Al, Raymond. He missed his brother so much. He would join him soon, but he still wished that both he and Raymond could have shared many years together. Alive.

Al Humphrey, he had been the father Horatio had always wished he had. A role model. If Al had been alive today, he would have found a way to make Horatio laugh.

And Speed, he had also died too early. Horatio had visited their graves two days ago. Natalia had been with him every step of the way.

"I do too." Natalia said, "I think about the past. The here and now and the future."

"The past sucks." Horatio sighed, "The here and now could be better. And the future… do I have to say how much I don't look forward to it?"

Natalia gently caressed Horatio's cheek. She knew how much he worried about her. He knew she would be a wonderful mother. But it wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair. She shouldn't have to raise their children without him. He wanted to be there.

"The past sucks yes. At least it depends on how far back you look." Natalia said, "If we look two months back. Is it bad?"

"Not entirely. But the part about my cancer is always bad. If I hadn't waited for so long to tell you how I feel, then maybe we could have had more than six months together." Horatio sighed.

"Hey, I waited far too long as well. We both did. What matters is that we told each other after all. We may not spend the rest of our lives together, but we get to spend six months with each other. For six months I've kissed you everyday. For six months I've felt your arms around me. _For six months I've been happier than ever before_." Natalia smiled and gave Horatio a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Me too." Horatio said.

A small tear made its way down from his eyes. Natalia wiped it away.

"The here and now has its good moments and its not so good moments. But the good moments are what matters." Natalia smiled.

"And the future will be bad." Horatio said.

"Not always. I will carry you with me in my heart. I know you will be my guardian angel. Our kids may not get to see their father in real life, but they will know that he watches over us." Natalia smiled.

Horatio smiled and nodded. Natalia was right. He hugged her for a long time. When they parted, Natalia gave him a kiss.

"I love you Horatio. I always will."

"I love you too." Horatio said, "When does the guests arrive?"

"Around noon." Natalia smiled, "Until then I have you all by myself."

"And what are your plans for today?"

"First, a long breakfast on the beach. Then a hot bath and then the guests will probably be here." Natalia grinned.

Horatio smiled. He helped Natalia take their breakfast out on the beach and they lay down on a blanket. Natalia had prepared a big breakfast. Horatio chuckled when she ate a lot more than he did. But she was after all pregnant.

"A woman has got to eat you know." Natalia said when she saw the look Horatio was giving her.

"Especially such a beautiful woman as you."

"Horatio Caine, are you trying to get me in bed with you?" Natalia asked.

"It depends. If it's working then yes, if it's not working then no." Horatio teased.

Natalia laughed and kissed him deeply. After their breakfast, they took a swim in the ocean. Horatio caught Natalia and kissed her hard before they both fell down in the sand.

"Time for your bath." Natalia grinned and walked back to the house with her husband.

Once inside the house, she fixed Horatio his bath and he sat down in the tub.

"Now what?" He asked.

"Now I wash you." Natalia smiled.

"Nah, join me." Horatio grinned and pulled Natalia down with him.

Natalia shrieked and giggled as she landed on top of Horatio. She laid down beside him with her head on his chest.

"Nice and warm." Natalia smiled.

Horatio nodded in agreement. The two of them washed each other off and kissed a lot, before it was time to step out of the tub. Natalia noticed that Horatio was getting tired and sent him to bed to sleep.

"I want to help prepare the lunch." Horatio said.

"No need. Off you go." Natalia smiled and lead him to bed.

Once he was tucked in, Horatio fell asleep quickly. Natalia ruffled his hair and went to the kitchen. She started cooking the lunch that she was going to serve at the celebration. She had barely started when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Ryan and Alexx outside.

"Hey! We thought we'd come and help you." Ryan smiled.

"You don't have to." Natalia smiled, "Come on in."

Alexx and Ryan walked inside the house. Alexx immediately went to the kitchen and Natalia and Ryan followed her.

"Natalia, no arguing. You're almost six months pregnant with twins. You shouldn't have to do this all by yourself."

"We're happy to help out." Ryan grinned, "Relax."

Natalia smiled and sat down, "Thank you."

"No problem." Alexx smiled and started rummaging through the fridge and all the cabinets. Ryan got directions about what had to be done, he started with setting the table on the back porch. Natalia felt the babies kick and grinned. She was happy to get some help. After a few minutes, she went to check on Horatio, he was still asleep and she sighed in relief. He needed to sleep.

"How's Horatio doing today?" Alexx asked.

"Good. He's sleeping right now." Natalia said.

"Good. He'll need to sleep before everyone comes tumbling in." Alexx chuckled, "The gift is done by the way. He'll love it."

"Oh yes." Ryan agreed, "I bet Eric twenty bucks that H will shed a few tears."

Natalia chuckled and shook her head. Eric and Ryan loved to bet against each other. Usually Eric won, but maybe this time Ryan would earn twenty dollars.

**-I-**

Everyone were eating lunch. Horatio smiled for the first time in two weeks. Calleigh was supposed to be the new Lt. in the crime lab, but since she was on maternity leave Eric was temporary supervisor. He had hired a new CSI, a guy named Simon. Simon wasn't attending the celebration, because he didn't know Horatio that well.

"Simon seems like a good guy. But I'm pretty sure Calleigh will fire him when she takes over the spot as lab supervisor." Eric smirked.

"Damn right I will." Calleigh said, "Simon is a jerk with a dick. He always flirts with the female lab techs. I don't like him."

"So he's Eric but worse?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, did he hit a sore spot?" Frank chuckled and high-fived Ryan.

"No. Simon is not like me. He is actually quite nice to talk to." Eric said.

"That's because you're a guy. He only likes women." Ryan said, "Simon is more interested in what kind of underwear Valera has then what the evidence can tell us."

"Seems like a fun guy." Frank said.

Everybody who had met Simon gave him a look and Frank shrugged.

"Okay, maybe not." He said.

"Even Scott doesn't like him." Calleigh said and looked at her sleeping son in her arms, "He cried the moment he saw him. Eric had to take Scott for two hours at the lab, when my father got sick. Simon ran away when Scott started crying."

"So he is a player?" Horatio asked, "A new woman every day?"

"Every hour." Ryan said, "Though, when it comes to cars, he is quite nice to be around. He is an expert. He's even better than Eric."

"Well, ask him to dive and you'll see something he _can't_ do." Eric said.

"Seems like Eric loves Simon and Ryan hates him." Horatio said, "Keep a firm grip on Eric, Calleigh."

Everybody laughed and Eric denied being a fan of Simon. He didn't like Simon that much. Just when the two of them talked about cars or sports.

"I am never leaving Calleigh." Eric smiled and gave Calleigh a soft kiss.

"Hey, no kissing while we're eating." Ryan joked.

"Jealous Wolfe?" Eric asked.

"No. No offence, but no." Ryan smiled.

"Any woman in your life yet Ryan?" Horatio asked.

"Or man?" Frank asked.

Ryan glared at Frank, "Yes, there is a man in my life."

Everybody were stunned to hear this and looked confused at Ryan. They didn't have anything against gay people, but he had never been interested in men before.

"His name is Chester, he has four legs and a tail. He is trained to bite Eric's butt if he ever shows up at my house." Ryan smirked.

Everybody laughed. Ryan smirked evilly. He had managed to fool everyone, something he rarely did.

"Chester? A dog?" Eric asked.

"No an parrot." Ryan said, looking dead serious.

"A dog." Calleigh said to Eric.

"He is quite big actually. And dangerous." Ryan said.

"You got bite marks to prove it?" Frank asked.

Ryan nodded and showed him some bite marks on his arms. Chester was still just a puppy. A big puppy. Ryan had to teach him some manners.

After dinner, everybody sat down in the living room and gave Horatio his two gifts. Horatio opened the first one and it was a big photo frame with four photos of the team taken on different occasions. The first picture had been taken on New Years Eve and Frank was dressed in a pink shirt, that he had burned afterwards. The second photo had been taken a year earlier on Alexx's birthday, when the whole team had agreed to have a swimming contest. So everyone were standing in swim suits. The third picture had been taken seven months earlier, when the team had been working on four cases at the same time and everyone had fallen asleep in the break room. Cooper had taken the picture. And the last photo had been taken on Natalia and Horatio's wedding.

"Wow, thank you very much." Horatio smiled widely.

"Open the second one." Eric grinned.

Horatio opened the second gift and was stunned when he saw a golden photo frame with a picture of himself in the middle. On the sides, there were different words engraved. It were words that represented what the team and the lab thought of Horatio. _Caring_, _kind_, _loving_, _hero_ and so on. Horatio wiped a few tears away.

"It's beautiful." He smiled.

Ryan smirked at Eric and Eric sighed. He handed him twenty dollars. Horatio read all the words and was amazed how much people seemed to like him. Then he gave each and everyone in the room a hug.

"Thank you so much!" He smiled, "I love it."

"You're welcome sugar." Alexx grinned.

**-I-**

It was late at night. Natalia was asleep, but Horatio couldn't sleep. Not yet. He had something he wanted to do.

He was sitting by the kitchen table, with a bunch of papers in front of him. He had a pen in his hands. He wanted to write a letter to Natalia. He just couldn't think of anything and it made him feel guilty. She was his wife! The love of his live and he should have tons of things to write down.

"Come on Horatio, think!" He said to himself.

He started pacing in the kitchen and when that got boring he walked to the living room. His eyes immediately landed on the wedding picture of him and Natalia. The love was so strong in their eyes. He grabbed the photo and went back to the kitchen.

"_Dear Natalia_…" He said and started writing.

When he was done, almost an hour later. He put on a jacket and grabbed Natalia's car keys. Since he didn't work for MDPD anymore, he didn't have his own hummer, so he used Natalia's. He drove to Frank. As he stood outside Frank's door he knocked on it softly. He knew Frank was still awake. The door opened and Frank looked confused at Horatio.

"You had a fight with Nat?" He asked.

"No."

"Want to come inside?" Frank asked.

"Actually I just came by to give this to you." Horatio said and handed the letter to Frank.

"This is for Natalia." Frank said as he read the name on the envelope.

"Yes, I want you to give it to her after I… after I… well you know." Horatio said.

"Okay." Frank said, "I will."

"It's sort of like a goodbye letter." Horatio said, "Anyway, um, thanks."

Horatio turned to leave.

"Horatio." Frank said and Horatio stopped.

"Take care okay." Frank said.

"Always." Horatio smiled and left.

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

Horatio sat on the beach. For maybe the last time ever. He didn't know how he had had the strength to walk down to the beach, but now he had been sitting there for two hours. Natalia was at the house. Making lunch. Horatio didn't feel like eating, but he would have no choice. The look in Natalia's eyes when he refused to eat was simply too sad. It was if her heart broke when he didn't want to eat. He was so tired all the time. So weak and fragile. It was impossible not to count the months as they had passed and six months had now passed. Horatio knew that his body was giving up. He could feel it. It hurt to think about how his body seemed to just ignore his mind and simply give up. His mind screamed _no, not yet_. His mind said that he still had many years left. But his body said that his time was over. Was this what he had been destined to do? Work hard for many years and risk his life in the line of duty countless of times, just to end up dying by cancer? Was this how God had imagined his life? Horatio shook his head. Why couldn't God spare him now that he was finally happy with the woman of his dreams? Why did he still have to die?

Nobody could answer it for him. He desperately wanted an answer, but he couldn't find one. He just had to accept the way things had turned out.

He had been to see a doctor a week ago. The doctor had tried to convince Horatio that it was best to pass away at a hospital. But Horatio had refused. He didn't like hospitals, so it was the worst place to die in. He wanted to be in his home. Where he belonged. He wanted to be with his wife when he took his last breath. He knew how much it would hurt for Natalia to be with him as he slowly passed away, but she had agreed without hesitation. He may not have been able to decide _when_ he wanted to die or _how_. But at least Horatio could decide _where_ to be and _who_ he wanted to be close too in the end. However, Horatio knew that he would die peacefully. And that was better than dying in the hands of a criminal.

Horatio sighed and stood up on shaky legs. He felt forty years older than he was. He walked back to the house and as soon as he reached the back porch door, Natalia was there to help him inside.

"Lunch is ready." Natalia smiled.

Horatio smiled back and kissed her on the cheek. He needed to be close to her. He couldn't stay away anymore. Natalia helped him to the kitchen and they sat down to eat lunch.

"What were you thinking about out there on the beach?" Natalia asked.

"Mostly you." Horatio smiled, "How your smile always makes me feel warm inside."

Natalia grinned, "I'm glad to hear that. I feel the same way about you."

Horatio smiled and looked down at the food. He had more than half the food left, but he just couldn't eat anymore. He looked sadly at Natalia.

"Don't worry." She said, "It's alright."

Horatio nodded and reached over to put a hand on her belly. The babies were kicking. Natalia grinned. Horatio was absolutely crazy about her belly. He could spend hours just having his hand on it.

"They're kicking a lot today." Natalia smiled.

"Be nice to mommy." Horatio chuckled.

"They are always nice, like their father."

"Their mother is also very nice." Horatio insisted.

Natalia chuckled. After lunch, the two of them went to their bedroom. Horatio laid down in bed with Natalia next to him. He knew it was hard for her to find a comfortable position, but after a while she decided that laying on her side would have to do. Horatio scooped closer and smiled as Natalia laid her head down on his shoulder. They both chuckled when the babies kicked again and Horatio could feel it against his own stomach.

"When mommy and daddy are resting, so should you." Horatio chuckled, "Don't you just love lazy Saturday afternoons like this one?"

"Absolutely. No cases to work with. Just laying in bed. Resting." Natalia said, "And apparently with some rain."

Horatio glanced out the window and saw the raindrops that hit it. Soon, he could hear some thunder and a lot of rain against the back porch and the windows.

"I like the rain. The sun isn't bad, but rain is… comfy." Horatio said.

"Rain is not nice." Natalia chuckled, "The sun however, now that is too good to be true."

"Nothing beats the snow."

"Okay, I have to agree on that one." Natalia laughed.

She and her family used to travel to Canada to go skiing during the winter in Natalia's childhood. She loved the snow.

"What's the New York Christmas like?" Natalia asked.

It felt funny talking about Christmas when it was May.

"It's… bright." Horatio said, "Bright lights everywhere. Santa Claus in every corner. Christmas is the best holiday of them all."

"I used to wake up my sisters when we were kids and sneak down to the Christmas tree. We made little holes in the gifts to peek inside and see what we would get." Natalia smiled, "We never thought our parents knew about it, but of course they saw all the peek holes."

"What was the worst Christmas gift you ever got?" Horatio asked.

"A sleigh. From my grandmother. She lived in Alaska for a few years and seemed to forget that I didn't have snow in Miami, and there was no way that my parents would take the sleigh with us to Canada." Natalia said, "I hated that sleigh because I couldn't use it."

"Do you still have it?"

"It's in my parent's garage. I don't know why we haven't sold it." Natalia said, "How about you?"

"Well, as most kids I didn't want gifts with clothes. And one Christmas my aunt gave me a Mickey Mouse jumper." Horatio said, "It was so childish and I was 13 at the time."

Natalia burst out laughing and Horatio grinned and shook his head at the memory.

"She must have forgot that I was a teenager." Horatio said, "I put in among Ray's clothes and since he never looked to see what he put on himself, he went to school one day with that jumper."

"You were an evil little child weren't ya?" Natalia winked.

"Not really. But it was payback for all the times he had stolen my candy." Horatio smiled, "He had it coming."

"How old was he at the time?"

"11. As soon as he saw what he was wearing he ran home and didn't go to school for two days." Horatio said, "I blamed our cat though."

"Did anyone believe you?"

"No, not my parents. But Raymond did actually. He believed most of what I said. I told him that it was a well known fact that cats could put clothes were they didn't belong. Of course two weeks later he knew I had tricked him." Horatio chuckled.

"Did he do anything back?"

"Put salt in my milk. I spat it out on him though." Horatio said, "I guess we did a lot of mischief as kids."

"Well, I cut off my sister Anya's hair once." Natalia said.

"Why?"

"She had called me a frog in front of my friends I though it was a fair punishment." Natalia shrugged, "Of course it wasn't now that you think back at it. You should have seen the look in her eyes. She never said anything evil to me again."

Horatio laughed so hard that tears ran down from his eyes. Natalia wiped them away and ruffled his hair.

"Our parents had their hands full with us." Natalia smiled, "I always used to spend hours away from home. I always solved math homework in my head and ended up walking passed my home four times."

"But let me guess? You got an A on the homework?"

"Yeah. That was the only reason my parents didn't come pick my up at school. So I could walk home and do math at the same time."

Horatio smiled and gave Natalia a soft kiss. They lay there for a while. Natalia noticed how tired Horatio got and watched as he fell asleep. She panicked for a while, but sighed in relief when she saw his chest rise and fall with every breath he took.

Natalia started to cry silently as she just watched her husband. She knew that even though everybody knew that six months had passed, no one really imagined what it would be like to actually know that Horatio was gone. She had seen the worry and slight panic in her friends eyes as they had realized that the end was so near. She was strangely calm at times. Maybe it was because she was so prepared for it. They all were. She didn't think it would be easier to be widow just because Horatio's death wouldn't come as a surprise. It hurt to know that time was limited. To realize that the months had passed so quickly. Natalia hoped she would be okay in the future. She gently touched her belly. The babies had calmed down some. She wondered how they would deal with growing up without a father. She wondered if she would be a good mother. Maybe she would be terrible and then one day the kids would come home and say that they hated her. Alexx had told her to think positive. It wasn't as easy as it seemed though.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be her _and_ Horatio raising the twins. Not just her. Natalia felt very grateful to have a big family to back her up though. She wouldn't be completely alone, but she would be missing half of herself. She suddenly felt very nervous about the approaching birth and motherhood. She had no idea what to do really. What if she would have a breakdown and just leave? What if she couldn't handle it and move from Miami. Leave her kids to be taken care by her family. She shook her head and cursed at herself. She couldn't think like that! Things would work out. She had to believe in that.

"Things always work out, don't they Horatio?" She asked quietly and kissed him on the cheek.

"Horatio?"

Natalia looked down at his chest and felt her pulse beat faster. She laid a hand over his heart and watched carefully. His chest had to be moving! Maybe she was just imagining things? She sat up and felt for a pulse.

"Horatio?" She asked and checked for a pulse again.

Not now! Not at this moment! Tears fell from her eyes and she shook Horatio and tried to wake him up. She screamed his name and yelled at him to wake up.

"Please Horatio!"

Natalia cried against his chest as she realized that he wouldn't wake up. His eyes remained close as she cried for more than an hour. She hugged him hard and just begged God to make him wake up. _Just one last time_.

"Please, Horatio. I love you." Natalia cried.

She hadn't said it to him before he fell asleep! Natalia sobbed and just looked down at her husband. It looked like he was still asleep. Like he wasn't gone. She got out of bed and grabbed her phone. She called Alexx and waited for the ME to answer.

"_Dr. Woods."_

"Alexx." Natalia sobbed.

"_Natalia honey… what? oh no_." Alexx gasped.

She already knew. Natalia's sobbing was enough for Alexx to understand that her long-time friend has passed away.

"It's been more than an hour now, but I just couldn't leave him." Natalia cried.

"_Honey, I'm on my way."_ Alexx said.

"Okay." Natalia said and hung up.

She couldn't stand to be alone right now.

In the Woods-resident, Alexx was trying to get herself together. She just stared at the phone. He was gone. Horatio was gone. She couldn't understand it. Alexx took a deep breath and walked to her car, Natalia needed her right now. As she drove to Horatio and Natalia's house, she called Frank. The big Texan went quiet as Alexx told him the news. He said he'd meet here at the house and hung up. Alexx started crying as she stopped at a red light. It had been expected for several days that she would recieve this phone call, yet it had come so sudden. When she pulled up at the driveway she barely got out of the car as Frank stopped his car behind hers. They knocked on the front door and when Natalia opened it, Alexx hugged her for a long time. Natalia cried and said that she had tried to wake him up.

"He wouldn't wake up Alexx!" Natalia sobbed, "I tried, but he wouldn't."

While Alexx soothed her friend, Frank walked to the bedroom. He took a deep breath before entering it and when he saw his best fiend lying in bed he started crying. He wasn't moving. He looked peaceful. Like all his troubles were gone. Like his body could finally relax.

"I didn't even get to tell him how much I love him. I thought he would just sleep for a short while and I would get to say it. But I didn't. He doesn't know!" Natalia cried.

"Honey, he does know. He has always known. And he loved you very much." Alexx said and wiped her tears away.

She lead Natalia to the kitchen and let the pregnant woman sit down. Alexx rubbed Natalia's back as she cried and cried. Frank joined them and gave Natalia a hug.

"I guess I have to call the others." Frank muttered and left to talk in the living room.

The first person he called was Calleigh. Eric would be with her so both of them would know shortly. When Calleigh answered the phone she sounded happy. Frank sighed as he knew he would take that happiness away.

"Calleigh, um, Horatio is… um, he's..."

"What? Oh no! Frank, is he really?" Calleigh asked.

Frank could hear Eric's voice in the background as Calleigh told him that their friend and mentor had passed away. Calleigh broke down in tears and Eric grabbed the phone.

"Frank, um, please tell me it was peaceful."

"It was. Natalia was with him. Just like he wanted." Frank said, "Alexx and I are here with her now."

"Should we come over?" Eric asked.

"I don't think it's necessary right now. She's heartbroken and well, I think she needs some space for a while." Frank sighed, "I have to hang up. I have to call Ryan."

"I understand. Um, give Natalia a hug from us." Eric said and Frank could hear that he was starting to cry.

"Will do." Frank said and hung up.

He sighed sadly before calling Ryan. He had expected the young man to become shocked and quiet and he was right. Ryan went silent for three minutes before he finally asked if Horatio had gone the way he had wanted to. Frank said the same thing to Ryan that he had said to Eric. After he hung up with Ryan, Frank joined the women in the kitchen again. Natalia wasn't crying anymore. Alexx was sitting next to her and they just sat there in silence.

"Natalia honey, I don't think you should stay alone tonight." Alexx said, "Do you want to stay at my house?"

Natalia nodded. She wasn't sure if she could handle sleeping in her own bed. Not when she knew she would wake up alone.

**-I-**

It was quite late at night. Natalia was sitting on Alexx's back porch. She was holding an envelope in her hands. The same envelope that Horatio had given to Frank two weeks earlier. She had been told that it was kind of a goodbye letter that Horatio had wanted Natalia to read after he had passed away. It felt strange to be at Alexx's home. She missed her bed. But tonight she didn't want to be alone. Horatio's body wasn't in the house anymore. It was at a funeral home for now. Alexx would help Natalia with the funeral arrangements. Natalia sighed sadly and opened the envelope and read the letter inside it.

**---**

_**Dear Natalia**_

_When I__'__m writing this letter I know that my time has come to an end. I can feel it. A little more then six months have passed since I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Six months filled with laughter, tears, thoughts about life and death. _

_I thought a lot about my life. What did I accomplish? Did I accomplish anything? I know I__'__ve made mistakes through the years. We all do. One mistake is that I didn't tell you sooner that I love you. Maybe if I had, we could have spent more time together. But I am grateful for the time we__'__ve been given. _

_I thought about death. What will happen when I die? Will I be reborn somewhere else? Will I be an angel in heaven? Maybe a guardian angel for my family? I can__'__t find an answer, because I can__'__t ask someone who has already died. I can__'__t do anything to prevent my own death. Not one thing. Am I scared to die? Yes, I am. But I know that I will not die in pain. My journey towards death has been painful, but the actual death will not be. _

_I wish I could get more time on this earth. More time to spend with you and the rest of our family. More time to catch the bad guys and hopefully save a few people. More time to simply live. I guess that once you__'__re standing face to face with death, you realize how much life actually means to you. Many times I__'__ve put myself in danger, because I didn't think I would die. I didn__'__t care about my own life. But now that I__'__m sitting here, writing this letter, I realize how stupid I__'__ve been. I risked my life for stupid reasons. I risked my life when I didn__'__t have to. And every time I got out of a dangerous situation alive, I thought I had won over death one more time. I laughed at death! And here I am, facing death. But not by a gun… not by a bomb… by cancer. I thought I would die on duty, in the hands of a criminal. But I__'__m dying in my own hands. Peacefully. And as I think about it, this is the way I would choose to go. I__'__d rather die by cancer, then being killed by a person. _

_I hate that I can__'__t live to see our children grow up. Maybe I__'__ll look down on all of you from heaven. But I__'__d rather be with you, raising them together with the woman of my dreams. I wish I could be with you when they are born. One of my biggest dreams, being a father, is coming true, but I__'__m not there to take part of it. _

_I am happy however, that our children will grow up with such a good mother and woman. They will be loved by our big family and that comforts me._

_Natalia, I love you and I know that I can watch over you and be proud to have you as my wife._

_Whatever life throws at you, remember that I__'__m there. Follow your heart, my love._

_**Many kisses, Horatio.**_

_**---**_

Natalia wiped her tears away and smiled up at the sky.

"I love you Horatio."

_**TBC…**_

**AN: Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

_**I can fly  
But I want his wings  
I can shine even in the darkness  
But I crave the light that he brings  
Revel in the songs that he sings  
My angel Gabriel**_

It was raining. As if the earth was grieving for the loss. As if the earth was crying for the man who had passed away. Just like everyone in the church, the earth was crying. Six months pregnant, Natalia, stepped out of her car and looked towards the church door. Frank and Alexx were waiting for her. The ceremony would begin soon. Cops were still entering the church, to honour the man who never gave up. She would not be there to attend the funeral of a fellow police officer. She was there to attend the funeral of her husband. Horatio Caine.

As she walked up the stairs to Alexx and Frank, she could see that they were crying. Natalia had been crying ever since Horatio had passed away in his sleep two weeks earlier. Everyday she cried when she woke up alone. And every night when she fell asleep without him.

_**I can love  
But I need his heart  
I am strong even on my own  
But from him I never want to part  
He's been there since the very start  
My angel Gabriel  
My angel Gabriel**_

At the altar there was a white coffin, in which Horatio lay. The last picture of him ever taken had been enlarged and was now standing among all the flowers. Horatio was smiling on the picture. It was from his birthday party and Natalia had snapped the photo. He had been so happy that day. And it showed in the eyes of the picture and the smile. As Natalia approached the first bench, the rest of the team stood up and they all hugged. Natalia spotted, the New York CSI team on the forth bench and the Las Vegas team behind them. As Natalia sat down between Ryan and Alexx, she gently touched her belly. The twins were calm. As if they knew that their father was being buried and that it wasn't a good time to play.

The priest was an old man. He looked out over the crowd and was amazed to see so many people desperately trying to fit inside the church. The priest gently put a hand on the coffin. He had never met Lt. Horatio Caine in life. But he had seen him on the news and noticed that he had made a difference in Miami.

"We are gathered here today to say goodbye to a great man. A man who fought for justice and peace. A man who never gave up and never backed down. We are here to say goodbye to Lt. Horatio Caine." The priest started the ceremony.

His eyes met Natalia and she gave him a sad smile. Her heart was broken. Many of the people in the church would leave with broken hearts. The priest knew that the team had known him the best. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Horatio Caine, grew up being bullied and was taught not to speak up for himself." The Priest said, the team had given him some information about what to say, "But as he got older he was determined to change that and to become a man who spoke for those who couldn't. His journey was difficult, but he succeeded."

Everybody jumped as there was a loud thunder outside. Natalia felt tears falling from her eyes. Ryan grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. She still wanted to do so much with Horatio and to say so many things. Now it was too late. It was too late for everyone.

"In his fight for justice and for a change, Lt. Caine sacrificed a lot of things. He worked whole heartedly with his mission. In his life, Lt. Horatio Caine lost several people that he loved very much. His brother Raymond was one of them. But he kept on going and stayed strong. Horatio was and _still_ is, an inspiration for others." The priest said and glanced at the people on the benches.

Many of them were crying.

"Before this ceremony is over, Srgt. Frank Tripp is going to say something." The priest smiled and stepped away.

Frank took a deep breath and walked to the altar.

"Many of you just knew Horatio as Lt. Caine, a stubborn man, who fought for justice. Many of you also knew him in private, and that he was a caring, kind and funny guy with a big heart." Frank sighed, "I remembered when I first met Horatio. It was more ten years ago and he was a bomb technician and I was a homicide detective. We met on a crime scene, someone had booby-trapped a house and Horatio refused to let me enter until it was clear. Now, you all know how stubborn I can be."

Frank chuckled along with everybody else. They could only imagine that the first meeting couldn't have been a very good one.

"I was young… well, younger anyway, and stupid. I knew best and was certain that the house was safe. Well, when I still couldn't enter the house. I decided to argue with this young New York redhead." Frank smiled, "I started quoting protocol and told him I had a higher rank than him. He gave me his famous death glare and a small creepy smile. He also quoted protocol and in the end we were shouting at each other. Trying our hardest to win the argument."

The officers who had been on the scene that day, chuckled at the memory.

"After an hour, I pushed past Horatio and entered the house. Two minutes later, I was running out, screaming like a 13-year-old girl, while small bombs went off around me." Frank chuckled and made everyone burst out laughing, "Horatio waited for me outside, laughing. We started off, disliking each other, but after a while, we discovered a few things we agreed on and that our differences is what made us good friends. The years passed and Horatio became the brother I never had. I shared many moments with him. Good and bad. And as many others, I never thought I would be attending his funeral." Frank said, "But here we are. Saying goodbye to a man, who was rarely wrong, who loved Italian food and practical jokes. He sacrificed so much of himself for everybody else. May he rest in peace."

Frank left to sit down again and shook his head. This was the worst day of his life.

_**Bless the day he came to be  
Angel's wings carried him to me  
Heavenly  
I can fly  
But I want his wings**_

The coffin was being lowered into the ground. Natalia took the flag that was handed to her. She wanted to scream for God to send his angel back down to earth. She still needed him. She wasn't ready yet. He hadn't been ready to die. She wanted to have her husband back. She wanted to see his smile as he gently touched her pregnant belly. Natalia wanted to hear his soft snoring early in the morning, when he laid spread out on the bed, with the sheets tangled around him. His voice as he confronted a suspect. His sexy smile as he seduced her. His hands as he massaged her back. She wanted to feel his lips against hers again.

But she never would.

All she had left know were the memories of him. The memories of moments that they had shared. Like their first kiss at the hospital. Like the time she had told him she was pregnant. The memory of their wedding. He had never felt so alive and strong as he had when he said _I do_, to her. He had told her that. He had told everyone that nothing could make him feel better than having Natalia close to him. It was the same for her. She would forever walk around with a broken heart. A heart that longed for only one person.

She could smell him from his clothes. She hadn't had the heart to remove them. She could feel his hands around her when she saw a photo of him. But it wasn't real. It was just in her mind. She was alone now.

Alone in a big house. Soon with two children. Children who would grow up without a father to play with. A father to teach them things. Natalia touched the ring on her finger. She would never take it off.

_**I can shine even in the darkness  
But I crave the light that he brings  
Revel in the songs that he sings  
My angel Gabriel  
My angel Gabriel  
My angel Gabriel**_

As Natalia came home, she looked at the photo on her night stand. It was of her and Horatio on their wedding day. He kissed her cheek and she embraced him. She gently ran her finger over the photo. She missed Horatio so much that it hurt. It physically hurt. And every time her heart beat she cursed at it. Why couldn't she had died too? Or why not die instead of Horatio?

Why so soon?

She had to be strong for her children. But it was so hard. She felt weak. As if the only thing keeping her alive was the fact that she was pregnant. She felt dead on the inside. She didn't know how her heart managed to still beat. How her lungs managed to still breath for her. How did she managed to get up every morning and go through another day without her lover?

Everyday that passed took her further and further away from the six months she had shared with Horatio. As the years passed, that time would fade and become old. She would forget as she got older and that was her biggest fear. To forget.

"I will never forget you Horatio."

_**TBC…**_

**AN: One chapter left. Please review! The song was Gabriel by Lamb.**


	15. The End

"Mommy, did daddy like to read?" The little boy asked.

Natalia smiled at her son, Horatio Jr. He was wondering if his father would have enjoyed reading fairytales to him and his sister.

"Yes he did. He did read poems to you before you two were born." Natalia smiled and looked down at her daughter, Stacey, in her lap.

The twins were five years old and were used to visit their father many times every year. In a way, Natalia hated sitting in front of the gravestone that announced that her husband was buried there. But, it was also comforting to sit so close to him.

For five years she had lived without Horatio. She had raised their two children alone. Of course the team helped a lot. The twins had their father's blue eyes and red hair. They both tilted their heads just like he had and always cared about others. It was hard for Natalia to wake up everyday without Horatio beside her. To see the twins get older without him.

She remembered how hard it had been the first time Stacey and Jr had asked why their daddy didn't live with them. She had always told them that daddy was an angel in heaven, but until that day they hadn't fully understood it.

They had seen Horatio on pictures and heard stories about him from the team. They knew what their father had been like and wished they could have met him.

"Is daddy watching us mommy?" Stacey asked.

"Everyday kiddo." Natalia grinned.

Natalia could swear that she sometimes felt Horatio's hand caress her cheek at nights. She was sure that he was their guardian angel.

In five years a lot had changed. Alexx had quit as an ME and worked at a hospital instead. She still saw the team often though. Calleigh was in charge of the lab. She and Eric were expecting their second child. Ryan had married a woman and they were still trying to have a child. But it had been difficult for everyone to know that Horatio had passed away.

Frank had had a difficult time after Horatio's funeral and took a few months off. When he came back he worked hard for a few more years and then had a stroke because of all the stress. Now he only worked part-time at the PD.

As did Natalia. As a single mother she wanted to spend time with her kids as much as possible. She still lived in the beach house.

"Mommy, look a flower!" Stacey exclaimed and pointed at a yellow flower, "Can I leave it with daddy?"

"Of course you can." Natalia said.

Natalia had cried when the twins had taken their first steps. Not in front of them, but later that night. All those special moments reminded her about the person that _should_ share it with her. She often wondered what the twins would do as they got older. What they job they would have.

"What are you thinking about mommy?" Jr asked and hugged his mother.

"Your father." Natalia smiled.

She thought about Horatio everyday. _Every single day_. She hoped that he was proud of her as a mother.

"Do you miss him mommy?" Jr asked.

"Very much."

Jr nodded and kissed Natalia on the cheek. Natalia chuckled as she watched her children look for more flowers. She then ran her fingers over the letters on the gravestone.

"Well, Horatio. I love you and I hope I make you proud." Natalia smiled and joined her children.

If Horatio had been there, he would have told her that he was very proud of her. And that he loved her too.

_**THE END!**_

**AN: So that's it from me on this story. I hope you all enjoyed it and please review!**

**Specto Nex is latin for Awaiting Death**


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